Source · Deaths in custody

PPO Fatal Incident Reports

6,563 incidents 5,801 published 1,698 recommendations 1,676 self-inflicted 3,427 natural causes

Deaths in custody investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. Among the incidents indexed here, 26% are recorded as self-inflicted. Source: PPO.

Theme: emergency_response · Remove

Incidents

126 records

Terence Devereux

HMP Channings WoodDate of death 24 May 2020

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 19 June 2025

Carl Kent

HMP DartmoorDate of death 21 May 2020

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 18 July 2025

Sean Huntroyd

HMP WinchesterDate of death 7 May 2020

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 8 July 2024

Ryan Nash

HMP BedfordDate of death 30 April 2020

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published10 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 22 August 2024

Sundeep Ghuman

HMP BelmarshDate of death 19 February 2020

HomicideInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 14 November 2025

Keith Turner

HMP HumberDate of death 9 January 2020

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published11 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 26 September 2024

Liridon Saliuka

HMP BelmarshDate of death 2 January 2020

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published15 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 19 December 2025

Allan Waddup

HMP NorthumberlandDate of death 13 December 2019

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 27 January 2026

Alan Johnston

HMP LiverpoolDate of death 27 November 2019

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 12 September 2024

Matthew Singh

HMP BerwynDate of death 23 November 2019

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 5 December 2025

Malacai Samson

HMP PentonvilleDate of death 23 August 2019

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published7 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 22 July 2024

Daniel Short

Glogan House Approved PremisesDate of death 14 August 2019

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published8 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 12 December 2025

Thomas Moffett

HMP PrestonDate of death 6 August 2019

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 25 April 2025

Davide Parra

HMP ErlestokeDate of death 5 August 2019

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 22 May 2025

Paul David Horrocks

HMP Thorn CrossDate of death 30 June 2019

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published7 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 8 November 2024

Susan Knowles

HMP/YOI StyalDate of death 10 May 2019

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 1 November 2024

Christine McDonald

HMP/YOI StyalDate of death 3 March 2019

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published9 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 14 August 2024

Degg, Paul

HMP RisleyDate of death 29 September 2018

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 19 April 2024

Taras Nykolyn

HMP WoodhillDate of death 5 June 2018

HomicideInvestigation: Report published7 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 6 September 2024

Imogen Mellor

HMP/YOI StyalDate of death 4 June 2018

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 10 July 2024

Kevin Delahunty

HMP RisleyDate of death 29 March 2018

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published8 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 17 December 2024

Anthony Paine

HMP LiverpoolDate of death 19 February 2018

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 19 June 2025

Paul Day

HMP SudburyDate of death 23 March 2017

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 29 July 2024

Adams, Yasmin

HMP Foston HallDate of death 13 November 2016

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published6 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 24 April 2024

Celeste Craig

HMP/YOI StyalDate of death 23 October 2016

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 7 March 2025

Aaron Nunes

HMP/YOI ParcDate of death 21 February 2016

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published25 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 27 August 2024

Top recommendation themes

healthcare (299) safeguarding (238) emergency_response (158) record_keeping (140) communication (130) policy (125) mental_health (115) safety (106) training (91) medication (80)

Learning & thematic publications

112 cross-establishment publications

Learning Lessons Bulletins (50), thematic reviews (2), consultation responses (11), Policy into Practice (5), annual reports (7) and FOI responses from the Ombudsman's disclosure log (37): the systemic patterns the Ombudsman draws from many investigations.

Title	Type	Date	Source
The number of complaints received by the PPO from 1 January 2023 onwards by people held in immigration removal centres and in short-term holding facilities	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
Annual Report 2025 to 2026	Annual report	Jul 2026	PDF
To provide information on prisons in the United Kingdom with forty or more self-inflicted deaths in the last ten years, alongside their total	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
The three English prisons with the highest number of self-inflicted deaths between 2016 to 2026 (excluding HMP Leeds), with annual breakdowns	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
The total number of prison deaths that occurred while the individual was located in a segregation unit per calendar from 2021 to 2025	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
The number of drug-related deaths in prisons in England and Wales from 2010 to 2025	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
A breakdown of the epilepsy deaths in Welsh prisons from the PPO’s Learning Lessons Bulletin on epilepsy deaths	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
The number of people held in prison, either serving a sentence or on remand, who have died by suicide between 2016 to 2026, broken down by each prison in Yorkshire	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
PPO response to JSC Inquiry into Children and Young Adults in the Secure Estate	Consultation response	Jun 2026	PDF
The number of upheld complaints made to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) about accommodation from 2024 to 2025.	FOI response	Apr 2026	PDF
Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 21: Segregation	Learning Lessons Bulletin	Mar 2026	PDF
Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 22: Self-inflicted deaths in reception prisons	Learning Lessons Bulletin	Mar 2026	PDF
HMP Elmley prisoner deaths by year from 2010 to 2025	FOI response	Feb 2026	PDF
Complaints to the PPO about inadequate access to sanitary products since 2020	FOI response	Feb 2026	PDF
The number of health-related deaths in prison	FOI response	Feb 2026	PDF
How many complaints did IPCI receive from prisoners during 2024?	FOI response	Feb 2026	PDF
How many complaints has the PPO received regarding lost property by HMP Peterborough	FOI response	Feb 2026	PDF
Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 20: Epilepsy	Learning Lessons Bulletin	Nov 2025	PDF
Annual Report 2024 to 2025	Annual report	Jul 2025	PDF
The number of deaths linked to drug taking in prisons in England and Wales between 2020 to 2024	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
How many prisoner deaths has the PPO been notified of each year, or started investigating, where there is a suspicion the death was drug-related?	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
The number of prisoners who died where no care plan was in place as found in PPO fatal incident investigations (1 February 2023 to 16 September 2023)	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
Provide a list of deaths by suicide in English prisons since 2022	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
The PPO response time for all cases in last three and current financial year	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
The number of self-inflicted deaths recorded in prisons from 2019 to 2024	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
The number of individuals in prisons, young offender institutions and approved premises in England and Wales and/or within 14 days of being released from prison were at the time of their deaths subject to an IPP	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
To confirm when the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s (PPO) Yarl’s Wood special investigation report was completed	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
To provide the total number of Prevention of Future Deaths (PFDs or Regulation 28 letters)	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
Policy into Practice: Handling of prisoners’ property	Policy into Practice	Mar 2025	PDF
Policy into Practice: Handling of property complaints	Policy into Practice	Mar 2025	PDF