SILVER AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUGDMENT
8
A. General provisions
28. The following Rules, containing general provisions on the control of
correspondence, came into operation on 25 March 1964 and are still in
force:
"33(1) The Secretary of State may, with a view to securing discipline and good
order or the prevention of crime or in the interests of any persons, impose restrictions,
either generally or in a particular case, upon the communications to be permitted
between a prisoner and other persons.
...
(3) Except as provided by these Rules, every letter or communication to or from a
prisoner shall" (or, with effect from 1 June 1974, "may") "be read or examined by the
governor or an officer deputed by him, and the governor may, at his discretion, stop
any letter or communication on the ground that its contents are objectionable or that it
is of inordinate length."
B. Provisions concerning the identity of correspondents
29. The following basic Rules, both concerning the identity of persons
with whom a prisoner may correspond, came into effect on 25 March 1964
and are still in force:
"33(2) Except as provided by statute or these Rules, a prisoner shall not be
permitted to communicate with any outside person, or that person with him, without
the leave of the Secretary of State.
34(8) A prisoner shall not be entitled under Rule 34" - which regulates the quantity
of correspondence - "to communicate with any person in connection with any legal or
other business, or with any person other than a relative or friend, except with the leave
of the Secretary of State."
1. Position prior to 1 December 1981
30. Under Rule 34(8), as supplemented by Orders 5A 22, 5A 23 and 5A
30, prisoners had to seek the Home Secretary’s leave to correspond with any
person other than a close relation; they were, however, also normally
allowed, without the necessity to seek such leave, to correspond with other
relatives or existing friends, but the governor had discretion to forbid such
correspondence on grounds of security or good order and discipline or in the
interests of the prevention or discouragement of crime. Governors had a
discretion - which they would have been unlikely to exercise in favour of a
"category A" prisoner, such as Mr. Williams or Mr. McMahon - to allow
communications with other persons not personally known to the prisoner
before he came into custody, but generally he could not write to other