HL Deb 28 March 1994 vol 553 cc41-2WA
Lord Hylton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why Kevin O'Neill B80521, HMP Full Sutton, York, has been placed so far from his family in London, and whether they will locate him more suitably.

The Minister of State, Home Office (Earl Ferrers)

Responsibility for the subject of this Question has been delegated to the Prison Service and its Director General, Mr. Derek Lewis. The Director General has therefore responded to the Question and his letter is given below.

Letter to Lord Hylton from the Director General of the Prison Service,—Mr. Derek Lewis, dated 28th March 1994:

Lord Ferrers has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the location of Kevin O' Neill, a prisoner at HMP Full Sutton.

As a convicted and sentenced Category A prisoner, Mr. O'Neill can only normally be located in one of the six maximum security dispersal prisons. It was necessary to transfer Mr. O'Neill from Whitemoor Prison in the interests of maintaining good order at that establishment. He was moved to Full Sutton Prison on 10 December 1993.

While I understand the difficulties this causes to his visitors from the London area, the maintenance of good order in prisons must remain a top priority for the Prison Service.

There are no immediate plans to move Mr. O'Neill but his location will continue to be kept under review.

It is open to Mr. O'Neill to apply for a temporary transfer to a prison in the London area to receive accumulated visits.