Derek Lewis (born 9 July 1946) is a former Director General of

HM Prison Service His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service), which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wale ...

, who was sacked in 1995 by then

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

after a series of high-profile escapes by IRA prisoners. He had declined to suspend the governor of

Parkhurst Prison HM Prison Parkhurst is a Category B men's prison situated in Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Parkhurst prison is one of the two formerly separate prisons that today make up HMP Isle of Wight, the oth ...

after a mass escape, and alleged that Howard had threatened to overrule him to force the suspension. Howard denied that he had done so. During the 1997 Conservative Leadership contest,

Jeremy Paxman Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English broadcaster, journalist, author, and television presenter. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate ne ...

asked Howard whether he had threatened to overrule Lewis. The question was put 12 times with Howard failing to give a definitive answer. Lewis studied at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

between 1964 and 1967 where he was a member of the Cherubs dining society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Derek 1946 births Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Living people British prison governors