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B, R (on the application of) v Collins & Anor, Court of Appeal - Administrative Court, March 10, 2000, [2000] EWHC 639 (Admin)

SMITH BERNAL
Case No: CO/68/2000
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
CROWN OFFICE LIST
IN CHAMBERS
Queen Elizabeth II
Law Courts
Liverpool

Date: 10 March 2000

B e f o r e :

THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MAURICE KAY

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Mr Nigel Pleming QC and Ms Eleanor Grey (instructed by Reid Minty, London ) appeared for the Respondent
Mr Benet Hytner QC, Ms Phillippa Kaufmann and Mr Robin Makin Solicitor Advocate (instructed by E. Rex Makin and Company, Liverpool)
appeared for the Applicant

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JUDGMENTMr Justice Maurice Kay:
1. The Applicant is 62 years old. On 6 May 1966 at Chester Assizes he was convicted of three murders and sentenced to three concurrent terms of life imprisonment. His offences, and those of his co-defendant, M.H., are often referred to as ``the Moors Murders''. The Secretary of State has fixed a full life tariff and the Applicant (unlike M.H.) accepts that he will never be released. For many years he was detained in high security prisons but on 29 November 1985 he was transferred to Park Lane Hospital by a Transfer Direction which referred to his suffering from mental illness within the meaning of the Mental Health Act and stated that the mental disorder was of a nature or degree which made it appropriate for him to be detained in a hospital for medical treatment. Park Lane Hospital, together with the nearby Moss Side Hospital, was later reorganised to form Ashworth Hospital. From his admission in November 1985 until June 1995 he was detained in Newman Ward. On 16 June 1995 he was moved to Jade Ward within the former Moss Side site. The move was carried out with police assistance because it involved movement outside the perimeter wall and along a short stretch of public highway. The move was uneventful. Throughout this period the authorities were mindful of the position of the Applicant and they made arrangements which, in his own interests, limited his freedom within the Hospital. To compensate for or counterbalance this they afforded him additional facilities, in particular a personal computer and special visiting arrangements.
2. For a number of reasons unrelated to the Applicant, Ashworth Hospital attracted public criticism and on 7 February 1997 an Inquiry was set up under the chairmanship of His Honour Peter Fallon QC. The ensuing Report recommended that ``Ashworth Hospital should close in its entirety at the earliest opportunity''. However, the Secretary of State for Health did not accept this recommendation. Without descending into unnecessary detail, the outcome was a more restrictive regime, the consequences of which included the withdrawal of the Applicant's computer and an increase in the security arrangements for visitors. In addition, the Applicant began to fear a return to the prison system.
3. On 18 June 1999, a Mental Health Review Tribunal considered the Applicant's position as part of a routine review and not at the request of the Applicant. It concluded that:
``the patient remains mentally ill and subject to a psychopathic disorder. His persistent verbal abuse of staff is largely attributable to such conditions. The patient is appropriately hospitalised for his own health and the safety of himself and others.''
4. At the same time the Tribunal expressed disappointment about the withdrawal of his computer and added that in its view: ``no step ought to be taken to reduce Mr. B.'s quality of life unless such can be adequately justified in his particular case. The patient's unique position in Ashworth would seemingly justify an...
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