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NI: N Ireland: Belmarsh

01 July 1995

A High Court judge accused the governor of Belmarsh prison of contempt of court after hearing about new restrictions on prisoners there which include thick plastic screens preventing proper communication with legal advisers. The judge, Andrew Collins QC, heard in July how, for the past few weeks, lawyers acting for IRA prisoners were forced to shout to be heard by their clients, and prison officers could not help overhearing conversations which were supposed to be conducted in private. Security cameras oversaw the visits. The number and thoroughness of the search procedures at the prison also interfered with legal visits by reducing to under an hour, in some cases, the time available for consultation. Conditions at Whitemoor prison were said to be even worse. Lawyers could not pass documents to their clients, but had to place papers in a bag which was then sealed and taken round to the prisoner in a process which took up to fifteen minutes per document. The judge condemned the restrictions at Belmarsh as probably in breach of the European prison rules, and told Home Office officials to warn the governor that he could be in contempt of court by interfering with prisoners' access to legal counsel. Conditions at Whitemoor were the subject of a separate judicial review.