Parole Board Recommendations: Open Conditions Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Justice
Lord Garnier
Main Page: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Garnier's debates with the Ministry of Justice
Parole Board Recommendations: Open Conditions
Lord Garnier Excerpts(1 year, 5 months ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Bellamy (Con)
My noble friend makes a very fair point. That is a matter primarily for the Sentencing Council, but the Government will of course keep it under review.
Lord Garnier (Con)
My Lords, we long ago got rid of Home Office Ministers setting tariffs in life sentences because it permitted politics to become involved in the justice system. Can my noble and learned friend assure me that of the 76 decisions made by the Secretary of State rejecting a Parole Board recommendation, politics played no part whatever in any of them?
Lord Bellamy (Con)
My Lords, those decisions were all taken on the merits. I repeat that it is an operational matter which prison the prisoner should be in. That is quite distinct from the question of whether a prisoner should be released, which is the primary role of the Parole Board.