The opening of a prison seems a strange thing to get enthused about, but there is no doubt that the opening of HMP Windmill Hill is a major event in local social history.

The building is well planned and constructed and fulfils a longstanding need for this service to be upgraded for all concerned, the prisoners, the staff and Gibraltar itself.

After all the way in which people treat their prisoners is a hallmark of who they are as a society.

 

For decades lawyers have been able to quote the Howard League of Penal Reforms report into Moorish Castle Prison which described these as monastic cells of medieval fabric.

But this is no 5 star hotel – all on yesterday’s press tour were pleased to leave the enclosed atmosphere after an hour.

A gift too that the Moorish Castle is finally free to become the public building it should long have been. There are great opportunities to exploit its lime pit, gallows and other grim assets in a way that both preserves history and improves the educational/tourism product. No doubt the Mayor of 2011, a well known enthusiast of the castle’s history will have his chance to support that project.

INDEPENDENT

The Police Commissioner’s decision to invite the Met to Gibraltar to investigate the allegations that a witness statement in the police station drugs case is a welcomed one. Any local investigation, however properly conducted, would have run the risk of accusations of either cover up or alternately vindictiveness.

Last week this newspaper urged that an independent review should be carried out and made public to determine what went wrong in that case and to establish what improvements should be made to the resources available to the prosecution process, in particular the manner in which evidence, including statements, is gathered, secured and checked.

The statements made by a former Bar Council chairman would appear to go further. Given his knowledge and access to the inside of the local legal process the call for an independent review is reinforced.