§ Mr. MullinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the earliest date after which the men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings will be eligible for parole.
§ Mr. MellorLife sentence prisoners are not eligible for parole, but may be released on life licence at the discretion of the Home Secretary if this is recommended by the Parole Board. In accordance with our policy that no life sentence prisoner should be detained for more than 17 years without an independent review, consideration of these cases will begin in November 1991. However, such a review does not necessarily mean that the board will recommend release or that my right hon. and learned Friend would accept such a recommendation if it were made.