Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Crispin Blunt and Richard Bacon

Tuesday 11th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree, that, according to the “polluter pays” principle, the best punishment for the people who caused the fire at Ford open prison would be to require them to take part in repairing the damage?

[Mr Blunt]

I am not entirely sure how welcome the return to Ford of those prisoners will be to the inmates who remain there and who have just seen their community facilities entirely destroyed. On a wider point, we want to move towards establishing proper recompense for victims, although I do not think that we will be recompensing prisoners in that institution. Restorative justice will now be a principle that we shall adopt extremely strongly.