asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the normal period that a reprieved murderer is kept in prison in the case of men and women whose behaviour is exemplary while undergoing sentence, and excluding for the purpose of calculation the men and women who have died while undergoing sentence.

There is no normal period. The appropriate period is determined in each case in the light of all the circumstances. There have been exceptional cases in which release has been authorised after less than a year, and cases in which the prisoner has been detained for 20 years.