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Mr. Donaldson: I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention.
Many serious questions must be answered about security and management at the Maze prison. The events surrounding Billy Wright's murder require a stringent inquiry. Many people in Northern Ireland wonder whether it was a series of coincidences and mishaps or pure incompetence on the part of prison staff, but many others suspect that there was collusion. If those suspicions are to be removed and public confidence restored, we need to know how Billy Wright was murdered and why there were serious breaches in security. Public confidence must be restored and the Minister has an uphill task to achieve that.
Those responsible for the prison management--the governor, the Director of Prisons in the Northern Ireland Office, the head of the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the Minister--must reflect on those matters. They must reflect on their judgments, particularly the decision to house INLA and LVF prisoners in the same block.
Mr. Andrew MacKay (Bracknell):
Does the hon. Gentleman accept that, the moment Mr. Wright was murdered, I called on behalf of my party for an urgent independent inquiry, which is the only way in which confidence will be restored? Does he share my concern that the distinguished public servant conducting the inquiry will not be regarded as totally independent because he is part of the Prison Service, the Home Office and the Northern Ireland Office? Would it not be helpful to have a further inquiry under a completely independent chairman and to publish its report in full? This is not a matter of seeking recriminations; we want to clean the slate, find out exactly what has gone wrong in the Maze and put it right. It does not necessarily matter whose fault it is. Many of us might be to blame, but we must ensure that it does not happen again and that prisoners are kept under a proper regime in the Maze.
Mr. Donaldson:
I agree that we need a full independent public inquiry into the running of the Prison Service in Northern Ireland. Although I do not doubt the competence of those carrying out the in-house inquiry, there is a complete lack of public confidence in the inquiry. The Minister must deal with that.
The Minister must also say why the governor of the Maze is only part time. Should we not have a full-time governor rather than someone who wears both a policy and a management hat? We need to know the truth behind the escape of the IRA prisoner, Liam Averill. Why were the visitors to the Christmas party not searched? Who took those decisions and why? Most important, we need to know the truth behind the circumstances of Billy Wright's murder within the Maze.
Mr. Maginnis:
Does my hon. Friend think that the incident will have great repercussions throughout the whole administration in Northern Ireland, given that the people who direct security policy in prisons are also the people who advise on the emergency provisions Acts, the Parades Commission and the Police (Northern Ireland)
Mr. Donaldson:
I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention and hope that the Minister will note his remarks. I hope that the Minister can today allay many of the concerns felt by the people of Northern Ireland about the Prison Service, the competence of those who run the service and those in ministerial positions who have ultimate responsibility for prisons in Northern Ireland.
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. Adam Ingram):
I congratulate the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Mr. Donaldson) on having obtained this Adjournment debate. In the time available after all the interventions from Opposition Members, I might not be able to deal with all his points, but I shall do my best.
The hon. Gentleman mentioned the Steele report and it should be put on record that the decision not to publish that report was taken by the previous Government. The incoming Government took on board the range of measures set out in the report, which specifically dealt with a tunnel escape attempt and set out various means of avoiding such escape attempts in future. I shall comment on those measures later.
The hon. Gentleman made several strong criticisms of the operational regime at the Maze and in respect of recent incidents, including the escape of Liam Averill and the murder of Billy Wright. Unfortunately, many of his accusations and the conclusions he draws from them are based on, as yet, unsubstantiated allegations made by a number of sources, some of them anonymous. That is not to say that I am dismissing them out of hand--far from it. There can be no question but that the escape of Liam Averill and the murder of Billy Wright were extremely serious breaches of security. Those incidents have cast considerable doubt on the effectiveness of the security arrangements that were in operation at the prison at the time and, as the hon. Gentleman said, they have seriously damaged public confidence in the management and control of the prison.
Let me assure the hon. Gentleman that I share each and every one of the concerns that he raises. I can equally assure him that all the points that he makes are taken very seriously indeed. Later in my speech, I shall return to the way in which the Government are dealing with them. However, before I do so, it is important to place the Maze prison and those who are held there in proper context.
I have said this before, both in the House and elsewhere, but it is worth repeating: the Maze is unique. There is no other prison anywhere in the democratic world that has such a concentration of terrorist murderers or those convicted of terrorist-related crimes--more than 500 dedicated terrorists who consider themselves to be not criminals, but prisoners of war. It should also be remembered that 29 prison officers have been killed and innumerable numbers threatened, along with their families, over the past 25 years or so. That is the reality not mentioned by the hon. Gentleman.
Mr. Donaldson:
As many of the murdered prison officers were constituents of mine, let me make it
Mr. Ingram:
Of course, I fully understand the hon. Gentleman's point, but he did not mention the Maze prison's uniqueness; nor did he try to place what happens in that prison in context or acknowledge the pressures on serving officers resulting from having to deal with those difficult prisoners. That creates unique and difficult conditions which run throughout the management of the prison, from bottom to top and from top to bottom. That reality should never be ignored by those who comment on events and the regime at the Maze.
Given those conditions, the attendant security and control problems are understandably and uniquely complex and difficult when balanced against the need to maintain a humanitarian regime. Those who are charged with the management responsibility of undertaking such a challenging role are regularly faced with the need to make difficult and sensitive decisions about security at the prison. That is an unenviable task which they have to perform on our behalf.
That situation is what the Government have faced since taking office last May and what previous Governments faced in the years before that. It is why the Government have put in place a progressive programme of tightened security measures, including twice daily head counts; cell fabric checks; a comprehensive search of cells and the blocks; control of materials available to prisoners; the installation of enhanced closed circuit television coverage in the blocks; and the scanning of all visitors along with other management measures, with more to come.
It is not the case, as the hon. Gentleman maintains, that security has been relaxed since May. The opposite is true, as the measures I have described prove. Of course, the matter does not rest there. In the light of the most recent, extremely serious, breaches of security, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has commissioned a full, rigorous and independent inquiry into events at the Maze. She has also asked Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons to carry out a full inspection at the Maze prison when the inquiry team has completed its work and reported its findings. Both those reports will be published and copies placed in the Library of the House.
The inquiry is well under way and its report is expected soon. I understand that the hon. Member for Lagan Valley has taken the opportunity to put his views directly to the inquiry team and I have no doubt that what he has already submitted and what he said to the House today, if that differs from his submission, will be fully considered by the inquiry team. However, as the inquiry is not yet complete, I am sure the hon. Gentleman will understand why it would be inappropriate for me to respond today to his detailed points.
1.19 pm
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