Billy Wright Inquiry

The Billy Wright Inquiry examined the circumstances surrounding the murder of Billy Wright by INLA prisoners at HMP Maze on 27 December 1997. The inquiry, chaired by Lord MacLean, published its report in September 2010, making three recommendations focused on prison record management and learning lessons from the failures identified at HMP Maze.

The inquiry found that approximately 800 inmate files from HMP Maze had been destroyed in late 2001 or early 2002 without written authorisation. All three recommendations were accepted by Secretary of State Owen Paterson, who noted that prisons had become a devolved matter and that he would discuss implementation with Northern Ireland Justice Minister David Ford.

Regarding record management, the Department of Justice (Northern Ireland) has published a Retention and Disposal Schedule, now in its fifth version, which covers all departmental records including prison records and specifies retention periods for different categories of documents.

On the recommendation to learn lessons from HMP Maze for HMP Maghaberry, the Secretary of State and Justice Minister initiated a review leading to the establishment of the Prison Review Team chaired by Dame Anne Owers in July 2010. This review published its final report in October 2011, identifying needs for significant improvements in governance, leadership, working practices and culture at HMP Maghaberry. A Prison Review Oversight Group was established in December 2011 to monitor implementation.

However, evidence suggests challenges persisted. A 2015 unannounced inspection by the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland and HM Inspectorate of Prisons found that systemic management failures identified at the Maze were substantially replicated at Maghaberry.

While the government accepted all recommendations and initiated review processes, published evidence of specific implemented reforms addressing the systemic issues identified by the inquiry remains limited sixteen years after the report's publication.