Member

As all those who are involved in and regularly attend prisons will know, as I am sure the right reverend Prelate will, prisoners range from being somebody who has just arrived on remand who is 24 years old to somebody who has been in prison for a very long time and is very accustomed to the situation. My own view is that prisoners should be entitled to exactly the same position as everybody else. The reason I take that view is because the safeguards in the Bill—the Clause 5 discussion, the two doctors, the panel, then the doctor again at the moment of the administration of the drug—are sufficient safeguards. It would be wrong to exclude prisoners from this right.