Oral Answers to Questions

Gordon Henderson Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne and Sheppey) (Con)]

1. What steps he is taking to ensure that prisoners who have been convicted of a crime of violence are assessed before being transferred from secure accommodation to an open prison.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Andrew Selous)]

Progression to an open prison is never automatic; all prisoners undergo regular, mandatory assessments of their risk of escape or abscond, and the risk of harm to the public, and only those assessed as having an acceptable level of risk for lower security conditions can be allocated to an open prison.

[Gordon Henderson]

I thank the Minister for that response, but there is another thing that I am concerned about. Sabul Miah recently absconded from Stanford Hill open prison in my constituency, causing a great deal of upset to the family of the man he was imprisoned for viciously attacking, particularly given that the first they heard of it was when they were contacted by a national newspaper. Would it not be possible for the families of victims of violent crime to be notified immediately by the Prison Service when the perpetrator of the crime either is released from prison or absconds?

[Andrew Selous]

I recognise the seriousness of the issue that my hon. Friend correctly raises. The offender absconded on 23 October. The victim liaison unit was informed of the abscond the next day and tried to contact the one victim who was on the victim contact scheme. They tried her mobile phone number several times but were unable to leave a voicemail. They had not been provided with an e-mail address so sent a letter at the end of that day. The offender was recaptured a week later and sentenced. However, I recognise the seriousness of what my hon. Friend says, and we will make every effort to ensure that victims are informed as soon as possible.[Official Report, 3 December 2014, Vol. 589, c. 3MC.]