§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of the role playing training session held on how to behave in court for those HMP Whitemoor personnel due to give evidence at the trial of the men accused of the 1994 escape from Whitemoor; who took the decision to organise the session; what legal advice was obtained regarding the lawfulness of the session prior to that decision; and if he will make a statement. [13421]
§ Miss Widdecombe[holding answer 30 January 1997]: 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 from Richard Tilt to Mr. Kevin McNamara dated 7 February 1997:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about training of Whitemoor personnel due to give evidence at court.Three training sessions aimed at preparing staff to give evidence in court have been run at Whitemoor Prison since September 1996. This training was chosen by the Governor of Whitemoor particularly because a number of staff at the prison were expected to be asked to give evidence in the coming months; it was expressly for the purpose of general briefing for staff on the appropriate behaviour for court appearances and on court procedures. Because the training was part of the normal local programme, no additional costs were incurred.Governors have been encouraged, at least since 1991, to provide training to staff on what is involved in being a witness to reduce the possibility of trials being prejudiced as a result of inappropriate action by staff. Legal advice was sought before the training was delivered.