§ Mr. LitherlandTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the future of Strangeways prison, Manchester.
§ Mr. WaddingtonAs I said on 3 May in exchanges following the question from my hon. Friend the member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Mr. Knox), an assessment of the structural damage to the wings at Manchester is being made. When it is completed, we shall review the various options for the prison's future. I can see the attractions, and the importance to the staff, of bringing at least part of the prison back into use as soon as possible.
§ Mr. LitherlandTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that the costs of policing the Strangeways riot will be met fully by central Government.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe Greater Manchester police authority has asked for a meeting to discuss the financial implications of policing the Strangeways disturbance. We will listen carefully to its points but any request for special assistance would have to be judged against the normal criteria of exceptional and unforeseen expenditure of a scale that threatens the efficiency of the force.
§ Mr. LitherlandTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied that the governor of Strangeways prison, Manchester was given every facility necessary to quell the riot at that prison.
§ Mr. WaddingtonConsiderable support was afforded to the governor of Manchester under contingency arrangements. The available support will be among the matters which Lord Justice Woolf's inquiry will address.
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§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations took place in the first 24 hours of the riot at Strangeways prison about the use of force.
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 30 April 1990]: The Governor of Manchester prison, the acting regional director and the deputy director general of the prison service were in frequent consultation about the tactics to be adopted in dealing with the disturbance.