§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the security alert that took place at Swaleside prison on Saturday 27 May involving the convicted spy Michael Bettaney; if Michael Bettaney had access to maps, drawings and photographs of the outside of the prison; what disciplinary proceedings have arisen or will arise out of this incident; when Michael Bettaney's case will next352W be reviewed by the parole board; and for what reasons Michael Bettaney is held in conditions that isolate him from other prisoners at Swaleside prison. [28351]
§ Mr. Michael Howard[holding answer 13 June 1995]: Through the vigilance of staff supervising a visit at Swaleside prison on 27 May, a number of photographs were confiscated from Michael Bettaney, along with a crude outline drawing showing Swaleside and Elmley prisons as squares.
Security at the prison has not been compromised. The police have now concluded their investigations and reported to the Crown Prosecution Service. A Prison Service inquiry is now taking place into the incident and the question of disciplinary proceedings will be decided when that inquiry is concluded and after the Crown Prosecution Service has decided whether to take action.
Michael Bettaney became eligible for parole after serving a third of his sentence and, like other prisoners, his case is reviewed annually.
For reasons of national security I am unable to discuss the conditions in which Michael Bettaney is held, or the reasons for them.