§ Mr. Andrew Smithasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are currently serving life sentences in England for offences other than murder; and how many of these are of Irish nationality.
§ Mr. John PattenThe recording of nationality on the records held centrally for citizens of the Republic of Ireland is not completely reliable because it depends upon the information provided by the prisoner. On 31 August, 520 prisoners were serving life sentences for offences other than murder in prison department establishments in England and Wales, of whom about 15 were recorded as citizens of or born in the Republic of Ireland.