§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will ask the Parole Board to reconsider its position regarding a release date for Ms Humphreys;
(2) what representation he has received concerning the case of Ms Emma Humphreys who is currently serving a life sentence at Holloway prison;
(3) what consultations he has had with the Parole Board about its recent refusal to grant Ms Humphreys a date for release or to move her to an open prison.
§ Mr. Peter LloydIt is not the practice of the Secretary of State to consult the independent Parole Board when the board decides not to recommend the release or the transfer to open prison conditions of a prisoner serving the mandatory life sentence for murder. The Secretary of State has not consulted the Parole Board in the case of Ms Humphreys and sees no grounds for asking the Parole Board to reconsider its recent decision in her case. A further Parole Board review of her suitability for release will begin in May 1995.
From time to time, the Secretary of State has received representations about the safety of Ms Humphreys's conviction for murder. Those representations have not provided sufficient grounds for him to refer her case to the 493W Court of Appeal under section 17 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968. Representations made by Ms Humphreys concerning her release on life licence were considered by the Parole Board when it last reviewed her case in May 1994.