HL Deb 28 June 1995 vol 565 c53WA
Lord Marlesford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What form of inquiry they propose to set up to establish the circumstances and causes of the escape from custody on 5 June 1995 of the Category A prisoner Mr. Wayne Black on his way from the Central Criminal Court to Belmarsh prison; whether the inquiry will consider whether there is any evidence of collusion, corruption, coercion, cowardice or incompetence; and whether the report will be published.

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch)

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter to Lord Marlesford from the Director General of the Prison Service, Mr. Derek Lewis, dated 28 June 1995.

Lady Blatch has asked me to reply to your recent question about the escape from custody on 5 June 1995 of Mr. Wayne Black.

The Director of Security, Mr. Richard Tilt, has been instructed to carry out an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the escape from a secure Metropolitan Police vehicle of two high risk category A prisoners on 5 June. The inquiry will examine all aspects of the incident including the performance of their duties by the escorting staff. There are no plans to publish the report of the internal inquiry.