Child rapist: Chocolate ban infringes my human rights

Paedophile Clifford Lyons, 38, says his human rights are being infringed by anti-obesity measures at the State Hospital at Carstairs.

Lyons - who has received legal aid to pursue his action - claims his personal fitness programme is compromised by a regime dubbed "the chocolate ban" which aims to improve the health of overweight patients in the high-security hospital.

A judge heard that restrictions had been placed on sweets, crisps and fizzy soft drinks in the hospital shop and patients were banned from buying food outside and having it brought in.

Lyons says he is keen to maintain his fitness but is prevented from obtaining protein bars and other supplements by mail order, or even buying Lucozade in the hospital shop.

The ban amounted to an interference with his freedom, more than was necessary for his welfare, and breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), his lawyers submitted to the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

The hospital management insisted that the measures were reasonable and lawful. It accepted Lyons was not obese, and said that notice was taken of his dietary needs in the food he was served.

Lyons was admitted to the State Hospital in 1990 when he admitted raping a ten-year-old girl in a field near his home in Drumchapel, Glasgow. He had grabbed the girl as she took a short cut on her way to visit her grandmother.

At the time, Lyons was on bail for attacking a 12-year-old boy a month earlier. He had lured the youngster into a field, forced him to strip and molested him.

The court heard yesterday that two or three years ago it was found that 83 per cent of patients at Carstairs were overweight or obese and work had started on ways to tackle the problem, including restrictions on items in the hospital shop.

Lyons is seeking a judicial review of the hospital board's decisions on limiting access by patients to certain food. His lawyers allege a lack of proper consultation with patients in breach of mental health legislation, and a disproportionate interference with his right to respect for his private life, as enshrined by the ECHR.

It was claimed that other ways of easing the obesity problem had been introduced but not given enough time to be adequately assessed before "the chocolate ban" was adopted.

In his petition to the court, Lyons's lawyers said he was not overweight or obese. His weight had been a constant 75kg (11st 8lb) for the past three years. "Whilst in the hospital, he has completed a course in Sport Therapy and Nutrition. He lifts heavy weights at least four times a week, and fills the rest of his time playing football and walking within the hospital grounds.

"He burns off a greater amount of calories than the average person. In order to pursue his fitness regime, he has ordered protein bars, energy drinks and other supplements by mail order, and he purchased Lucozade from the hospital shop.

"He has been told that because of 'the chocolate ban' he will no longer be allowed to purchase items by mail order, nor will he be allowed to purchase Lucozade from the hospital shop.

"The hospital is his home for the purposes of the ECHR. What he is able to eat or drink in his home, his choice of fitness regime and his ability to follow a diet which permits that regime are all aspects of his right to respect for his private life.

"The measures amount to an interference with his personal autonomy by impacting on his ability to live his personal life as he chooses," the petition said.

Lady Dorrian is due to hear two days of legal submissions, and is expected to give her ruling later.

CASH CLAIMS

THERE have been a number of high-profile compensation cases made by prisoners over the past decade. One of the earliest was by Robert Napier, below, in 2001.

He was awarded 2,400 after a judge found that the practice of slopping out breached his human rights.

Paedophile Neil Robertson sued in 2009 after a delay in receiving treatment for sore teeth while serving a life sentence in Peterhead Prison, and received an out-of-court settlement from the Scottish Prison Service.