§ Mr. Peter AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will investigate the role of(a) the Probation Service and (b) his Department in the publication of the book "Cries Unheard"; and if they were aware in advance of any proposed payment to Mary Bell. [41060]
399W
§ Mr. StrawI have asked the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office to investigate the circumstances in which Home Office officials became aware that Mary Bell, convicted for manslaughter and released on life licence, was proposing to co-operate with Gitta Sereny in the writing of a book about her life, to establish what procedures and instructions were in place to guide proper consideration of the case, and to make recommendations for improvement in handling such cases in future. I have asked for a report by the end of June, with the intention of making the main findings public.
The Probation Service is separately reviewing their involvement in events leading up to the publication of the book and I have asked for a report on the outcome.