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6.24 pm
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Jane Kennedy): I congratulate the hon. Member for Belfast, East (Mr. Robinson) on securing the Adjournment debate. Before I respond to some of his specific points, I take this opportunity to express regret on behalf of the Government at the death in custody of Billy Wright. I acknowledge that the murder is most sorely felt by his immediate family, including his father David. However, it would be remiss of me not to draw Members' attention to the very real dangers posed by serious terrorist offenders down the years. Those dangers contributed significantly to the difficult nature of the segregated regime at the Maze prison. That regime enabled prisoners, including, it must be said, Billy Wright, to enjoy a level of control within the regime at the Maze that put significant pressure on both management and staff. Many prison officers and prisoners paid the ultimate price for that, and that is why we continued to resist pressures for segregated conditions.
Before I turn to the murder itself in the very brief time left available to me, I should respond to the comments that the hon. Gentleman has made. He referred to comments made by my predecessor and quoted from Hansard. He is the best judge of his own conduct in bringing such a matter, particularly the confidential file, to such a public arena. I have not seen that file, and I therefore cannot respond in any detail. It occurs to me to wonder whether, had the hon. Gentleman been serious about wishing to get to the bottom of the matter—in his terms—and to examine the issues in detail, he might have sought to consult me, as the relevant Minister, and prison officials. If he had, we could have examined the points that he has made in some detail and sought to give a proper and reasoned response to the allegations that he has made. I am not aware of any such approach having been made to my office, and hon. Members may draw their own conclusions on why he has chosen to raise this matter in this way. The fact of his having possession of such a confidential file is, in itself, something on which I shall have to reflect when I read Hansard after this debate.
The hon. Gentleman pointed to several factors that he interpreted as meaning collusion. I have only three minutes in which to do it, but I shall consider just one or two of them in detail. Whether he likes it or not, I will rest on the Narey report. He has dismissed that report out of hand, but I do not believe that it should be dismissed. It is a serious report.
Mr. Robinson: Will the Minister give way?
Jane Kennedy: The hon. Gentleman left me only 10 minutes to reply, not three minutes as I said earlier. He raised a number of serious issues, and it is important that I should use my time to respond.
The Narey report concluded that
- "the decision to co-locate the two factions"
- "was not an unreasonable one for the Governor to make. The decision was taken only after the most serious consideration of its implications. It is important to stress that prisoners were in the same block but on completely discrete wings, separated by six steel gates."
Following the hostage-taking incident at Maghaberry, preventing the prisoners and staff who had witnessed that incident from discussing it in any way was a priority, as there was a strong possibility of witnesses being called to any subsequent trial. Given the number of witnesses, the simplest way of achieving that was to remove the prisoners to the INLA wing at the Maze. Magilligan was an option not open to the prison service, as it was, and remains, a medium to low-risk security prison.
Narey's report found that the area of fence from which the hole was cut was out of range of CCTV cameras covering the exercise yard. The prison authorities were aware that one camera was malfunctioning. The hon. Gentleman will know that that camera was maintained by an outside contractor, who had been informed that it was in need of repair. It must be remembered that there were in excess of 200 cameras around the Maze prison at that time. Inevitably, there would be periods when one or more were malfunctioning. The Narey report addressed this issue and others about the insecurity of the roof area, for example, in the following way:
- "it must be recognised that in a prison like the Maze the Governor is inundated with warnings, rumour and anecdote."—
Jane Kennedy: No, because in a half-hour Adjournment debate I have limited time, and the hon. Gentleman took a significant time to present his case. [Interruption.] He may shout if he wishes to, but that just limits my ability to respond. The report continued:
- "He cannot react to all of them because to do so would prevent the running of the prison: prisoners would never be able to leave their wings. And the observation that Mr Wright was in danger was already appreciated by him. The Governor recognised the risk and attempted to manage the risk",
Narey was unable to establish how the firearms used entered the prison. Rigorous search procedures were in place that self-evidently failed. As with all security matters, a balance has to be struck between the security of the prison, prisoners and staff and their rights and
dignity. It is impossible to stop all smuggling into prison without the use of closed visits, where prisoners do not come into contact with their visitors, and draconian search procedures, which would need to include intimate searching.Narey also made recommendations aimed at preserving the integrity of security fences that were introduced immediately. The report states that the fence is observable from the watchtower. However, it is only the general area that can be observed. It is impossible to detect any interference with the fence itself from the tower, and prisoners had access to that area.
The hon. Gentleman referred to the prison officers in the watchtower overlooking the prison roof. Narey concluded:
- "In our view, whether or not the tower was manned, Mr Wright would still have been shot. Even if the tower officer had raised the alarm immediately, only one member of staff could have gained access to the forecourt, and had he intervened to protect Mr Wright, it is likely that he too would have been shot. Moreover the fact that the alleged perpetrators made no attempt to disguise themselves indicates that potential detection or identification was of little concern to them."
I turn now to the issue of inquiries and the campaign supported by the hon. Gentleman for a public inquiry. It is the Government's view that the death has been adequately investigated. Three men have been convicted for the murder as a result of the police investigation. The findings of the coroner's court concurred with that outcome.
The hon. Gentleman referred to the judicial review. The judgment of Mr. Justice Kerr was against releasing the police file that the hon. Gentleman has used this evening. However, the judge commented that none of the inquiries in his view held so far have satisfactorily answered a number of aspects, and the hon. Gentleman listed those aspects. The judge also said that he would reconsider whether he would reveal the contents of the police investigation once Justice Cory had decided what further action was required.
The Narey report concluded that while the death was regrettable, there was no evidence that manning of watchtowers, cameras working and so on would have made any difference to the execution of the crime. The Government take allegations of collusion seriously. The points—
The motion having been made after Six o'clock, and the debate having continued for half an hour, Mr. Deputy Speaker adjourned the House without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order.
- Adjourned at twenty-six minutes to Seven o'clock.
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