§ Lord Hyltonasked her Majesty's Government:
What inquiries have been or will be made to find out how lethal weapons came to be in Parkhurst Prison, when Mr. John Harty was recently stabbed and killed; and what steps they are taking to protect the lives of prisoners there and elsewhere.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Glenarthur)Tools and other implements (including knives) are in regular use in prison department establishments by staff or by inmates employed in, for example, workshops or kitchens. Instructions are in force regarding the selection of inmates for specific kinds of work, and there are procedures for the issue and control of tools and implements. These will be reviewed as necessary in the light of police and internal inquiries which are continuing into the incident in which Mr. Harty was fatally wounded.