13
SILVER AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUGDMENT
(vii)
statements about private individuals which were patently
scandalous or libellous or otherwise deliberately calculated to do them
harm;
(viii) begging requests for money or valuable property;
(ix) complaints about prison treatment;
(x) allegations against prison officers;
(xi) attempts to stimulate public agitation or petition.
Similar regulations applied to incoming letters (Order 5A 26(4) d.).
As recorded in paragraphs 32 and 35 above, the prohibition on the
inclusion of complaints about prison treatment or allegations against prison
officers did not apply to certain correspondence with legal advisers (after 6
August 1975) and with specified organisations (after 26 August 1977),
provided always that the "prior ventilation rule" (see paragraph 47 below)
had been satisfied.
(b) Until 28 November 1975, a broadly similar list of prohibited contents
applied to letters to Members of Parliament, except that they could contain
complaints about prison treatment or against prison staff in respect of which
the "prior ventilation rule" had been observed. Thereafter, a letter to a
Member of Parliament would have been stopped only if it included an
unventilated complaint of that kind (Order 5C, as amended by Instruction
62/1975). At the time of the change of practice, a notice summarising the
regulations concerning letters to Members of Parliament was issued for the
information of prisoners. It contained the following passage:
"A complaint or request about prison treatment should be made to the Governor,
Board of Visitors or visiting officer, or by petition to the Home Secretary .... A
complaint against a member of staff should be made to the Governor. A complaint on
these matters may not be made to a Member of Parliament before official action is
complete."
(c) Letters from convicted prisoners who were foreign nationals or
citizens of the Irish Republic or a Commonwealth country to Consular or
Commonwealth officials were subject to the same rules as to contents as
letters to Members of Parliament until 3 September 1975. On that date this
restriction was abolished (Order 5A 20, as amended by the Instruction of 3
September 1975).
46. With the exception of certain correspondence in connection with
legal business for which standing leave had been granted as explained in
paragraphs 31, 32 and 35 above, Rule 34(8) prohibited any communications
on any legal or other business without the prior leave of the Home
Secretary. The conduct of business by prisoners was further dealt with by
Orders 1C 4-6, the basic provision being that "an inmate" - whether
convicted or not - "may not conduct any business activity in prison, but
should be allowed reasonable facilities for arranging its conduct on his
behalf". However, subject to this general rule, governors had discretion to
allow an inmate to deal with certain limited personal business matters, in