§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons are serving prison sentences in Great Britain for terrorist offences connected with Northern Ireland; how many of them are serving(a) life sentences and (b) other indeterminate sentences; to which terrorist group these prisoners belong and how many are in categories (a) and (b); how many he estimates will be transferred to Northern Ireland inside the next two years; and how many of those transferred will be eligible for release under the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998. [55024]
§ Mr. George HowarthSix prisoners convicted of terrorist related offences connected with Northern Ireland are currently held in prisons in England and Wales, none of whom is serving a life sentence or other indeterminate sentence. The Prison Service does not record centrally information on organisations to which prisoners may belong. One of the six prisoners has requested a transfer to Northern Ireland. This application is currently under consideration and it is not possible to speculate on the outcome. The eligibility of an prisoner for release under the provisions of the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 is entirely a matter for the Sentence Review Commissioners.