§ Mr. Simon Hughesasked the Minister for the Arts if the British Library has completed its assessment of the damage to its collections inflicted by Miss Norma Hague and discovered in 1984.
§ Mr. Luce[pursuant to his reply, 27 March 1987, c. 291]The British Library has completed its assessment. I understand that all the property for which there was conclusive evidence of theft by Miss Hague was subsequently recovered.
§ Mr. Simon Hughesasked the Minister for the Arts if he will list the individual and total value of the damage inflicted by Miss Norma Hague on the collections of (a) the British Library, (b) the Birmingham public library and (c) the Liverpool public library, including in each case the token value mentioned as their share of the damage on the charge when Miss Hague pleaded guilty and was convicted in November 1984.
§ Mr. Luce[pursuant to his reply, 27 March 1987, c. 291]Miss Norma Hague was convicted in 1984 of stealing property to an estimated value of £21,847 from these libraries. The individual values were £12,847 for Liverpool city libraries, £5,000 for the city of Birmingham public libraries, and £4,000 for the British Library. A considerable proportion of the stolen property was subsequently recovered. I understand that there is no conclusive evidence that further damage was inflicted by Miss Hague beyond the amounts with which she was charged.