HL Deb 16 October 1995 vol 566 cc68-9WA
Lord Tebbit

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to their Answer of 19th July (HL WA34) whether they will say when they expect the eight prisoners convicted of terrorist offences at present temporarily transferred to Northern Ireland prisons to be returned to Great Britain; and

By what criteria they are guided in deciding which prisoners convicted of terrorist offences in Great Britain should be transferred to prisons in Northern Ireland and which of those should be transferred to Northern Ireland jurisdiction.

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch

All requests by prisoners for permanent or temporary transfer to another United Kingdom jurisdiction are considered on their individual merits under criteria announced to Parliament in answer to a Written Question from Lord Hylton on 23 November 1992 (HLWA60).

A permanent transfer has the effect of transferring responsibility for the prisoner's continued detention and release to the receiving jurisdiction. A request for such a transfer which meets the criteria may, however, be refused if it is considered that the prisoner's crimes were so serious as to make it inappropriate that he or she should benefit from a substantial reduction in time to serve if that would be a consequence of the transfer.

If a permanent transfer is refused, a temporary transfer may be granted. A temporary transfer does not disturb a prisoner's release arrangements; these remain the responsibility of the sentencing jurisdiction.

Of the eight prisoners convicted of terrorist-related offences and granted a temporary transfer to Northern Ireland, four have been granted a period of temporary transfer of up to six months from 28 July. The temporary transfers of the other four expire on 1 September.

The criteria for considering transfer requests provide for prisoners granted a period of temporary transfer to apply for extensions. It is open to the eight terrorist prisoners to apply for further periods of temporary transfer before expiry of their current transfer. Any such request will be considered on its individual merits.