§ Mr. AncramTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many media interviews with convicted prisoners have been published in the last two years; and what are the criteria for allowing such interviews.
§ Mr. Peter LloydApplications to interview prisoners are generally processed through the Home Office public relations branch. Each application is dealt with on its merits and a decision to proceed is made by the public relations branch in conjunction with prison governors, senior officials and, where necessary, Ministers.
At the outset, the journalist involved would need to outline fully his or her request and justify the need to interview prisoners.
If the interview is allowed to proceed for research or private purposes, an undertaking would need to be given that none of the material obtained would be used in any publication or broadcast.
Statistical information about the number of media interviews with convicted prisoners, published or broadcast during the last two years, is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.