§ Mr. SpellerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to increase the maximum sentences for those pleading guilty upon the grounds of diminished responsibility to the crimes of killing, raping, or wounding.
Mr. PattenNo. Diminished responsibility is a defence only to a charge of murder. The maximum penalty for manslaughter, raping or wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm is life imprisonment.