I beg to move amendment No. 564, in

clause 226, page 125, line 38, leave out subsections (2) and (3) and insert—

'(2) As soon as—

(a) a prisoner to whom this section applies has served one-half of the appropriate custodial term, and

(b) the Parole Board has directed his release under this section,

it is the duty of the Secretary of State to release him on licence.

(2A) The Parole Board may not give a direction under subsection (2) unless the Board is satisfied that it is no longer

necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined.

(3) As soon as a prisoner to whom this section applies has served the appropriate custodial term, it is the duty of the Secretary of State to release him on licence unless the prisoner has previously been recalled under section 232.'.

The amendment arises following the judgments in the cases of Stafford and of Benjamin and Wilson. It is necessary because it requires the Secretary of State to release an offender serving an extended sentence, once directed to do so by the Parole Board. The detention of an offender past the halfway point of sentence is purely on the basis of risk. The offender is entitled to have that risk determined by an independent body. Once that determination has been made, there can, following recent case law, be no justification—this partly answers the point raised by the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome—for any further decision-making function on the part of the Secretary of State. The clause must therefore be amended to take account of such judgments.

The amendment also brings provision for the extended sentence into line with release provisions for the sentence of imprisonment or detention for public protection and life sentences contained in the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 226, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.