§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what rules exist to prevent payment to convicted prisoners or their agents or relatives, as a way of capitalising on their notoriety and crime by granting press interviews;
(2) if he will consider taking powers to prevent all payments to convicted prisoners who agree to sell their stories to the media.
§ Mr. Maclean[holding answer 26 January 1994]: Prison Service standing orders prohibit sentenced prisoners from engaging in correspondence, or in communicating by telephone about matters, which includes material intended for publication in return for payment. Visits to inmates by journalists or authors in their professional capacity are generally not allowed. In addition, the newspaper industry's code of practice specifically provides that people involved in crime or their associates should not be paid for their stories. It would not be feasible to devise legal restraints sufficiently broad to prevent criminals profiting from published accounts of their criminal activities, while at the same time avoiding unjustifiable restrictions on media reporting of matters of legitimate public interest. Enforcement could be particularly difficult since payment could be made indirectly, covertly or outside the jurisdiction.