SILVER AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUGDMENT
16
A prisoner whose letter is stopped on account of its contents will be
given the opportunity of rewriting it. Where the cause of the stoppage is the
addressee’s identity, the prisoner may use his entitlement to that letter to
write to another person.
F. Complaints concerning censorship (before and after 1 December
1981)
1. Internal channels of complaint
51. An inmate who is aggrieved by a decision to stop or censor his
correspondence may complain to the prison governor, the Board of Visitors
or a visiting officer of the Home Secretary or he may petition the Home
Secretary himself. A prisoner may ventilate his complaint through any or all
of these channels and, if more than one is utilised, in such sequence as he
wishes.
(a) The Board of Visitors
52. As far as the Board of Visitors is concerned, it may examine the
compatibility of the decision complained of with the Rules and the Home
Secretary’s directives. It will draw the governor’s attention to any
irregularity, or report to the Home Secretary; although its powers are
advisory in character, its advice will be implemented save in exceptional
circumstances.
(b) Petitions to the Home Secretary
53. Inmates have the right to submit petitions to the Home Secretary
about any matter, for example to seek a permission which the local prison
management is not empowered to grant or has refused, or to complain of
prison treatment.
On a petition being made by a prisoner, complaining of a decision of the
prison authorities to stop or censor his correspondence, the Home Secretary
would, if he concluded that the relevant Orders had not been properly
interpreted or applied by the prison authorities, issue directions to them to
secure compliance. Although it is possible for him to depart from the Orders
in particular cases, this is likely to occur only rarely, if at all, since their
very purpose is to ensure uniformity of practice and to avoid arbitrary
interference with correspondence.
Prior to 1 December 1981, directives concerning the submission of
petitions were contained in Orders 5B 1-16. It was, in particular, provided
that, with certain exceptions, a prisoner could not petition if and so long as
he was awaiting a reply to an earlier petition (Order 5B 12(2)).