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: healthcare · Remove

Incidents

204 records

Kevin Smith

HMP/YOI DoncasterDate of death 22 April 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 24 June 2025

William McKee

HMP Channings WoodDate of death 22 April 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 21 February 2025

Dean Graham

HMP NorthumberlandDate of death 11 April 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 25 October 2024

Alan Hines

HMP OakwoodDate of death 7 April 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 4 July 2025

Colin Hudson

HMP/YOI High DownDate of death 5 April 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 8 July 2024

William Evans

HMP AshfieldDate of death 13 March 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 14 November 2024

David Bentley

HMP/YOI High DownDate of death 10 March 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 26 July 2024

Glen Adrian

HMP DurhamDate of death 8 March 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 29 November 2024

Shafaq Khan

HMP HindleyDate of death 28 February 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 8 July 2024

Christopher Corkill

Isle of ManDate of death 24 February 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published15 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 25 July 2024

John Hartshorne

HMP StaffordDate of death 14 February 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 7 August 2025

Andrew Hadwin

HMP DurhamDate of death 2 February 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 4 July 2025

Anthony Mitchell

HMP DartmoorDate of death 30 January 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 31 January 2025

Paul Paget

HMP SwalesideDate of death 17 January 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 6 December 2024

Lawrence Dugbazah

HMP LittleheyDate of death 6 January 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 16 August 2024

Weighman, Daniel

HMP ChelmsfordDate of death 6 January 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 2 May 2024

Marc Uzzell

HMP BristolDate of death 28 December 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 7 August 2025

James Trewick

HMP NorthumberlandDate of death 17 December 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 12 December 2025

Wayne Franks

HMP WakefieldDate of death 5 December 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 12 December 2025

Anderson, Craig

Isle of Man PrisonDate of death 25 November 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published15 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 29 April 2024

Jason Kennedy

HMP/YOI High DownDate of death 9 November 2022

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 12 December 2025

Russell Irvine

HMP DurhamDate of death 7 November 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 8 July 2024

Ewan Homer

HMP StaffordDate of death 6 November 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 16 July 2025

Shaine Tester

HMP GartreeDate of death 1 November 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 8 July 2024

Colin Lovett

HMP The VerneDate of death 29 October 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 12 June 2025

Pearson, John

HMP Holme HouseDate of death 24 October 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 15 May 2024

John Warry

HMP StaffordDate of death 25 September 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published10 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 12 December 2025

Christopher Keeling

HMP/YOI DoncasterDate of death 18 September 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 16 August 2024

Steven Haldane

HMP StaffordDate of death 29 August 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 27 June 2025

Sebastian Mularz

HMP HullDate of death 17 August 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published6 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 21 July 2025

Marlon Burrows

HMP GarthDate of death 16 August 2022

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published6 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 22 July 2024

Sion Evans

HMP/YOI ParcDate of death 12 August 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 21 February 2025

Emlyn Francis

HMP DovegateDate of death 18 July 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 19 December 2024

Shehu Balogun

HMP LiverpoolDate of death 12 July 2022

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 17 October 2025

Leon Cadman

HMP PeterboroughDate of death 12 July 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 11 September 2024

Wilson, John

HMP Forest BankDate of death 17 June 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 20 May 2024

Michael Higginbottom

HMP StaffordDate of death 5 June 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 27 November 2025

Huston, Trevor

HMP Forest BankDate of death 4 June 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 10 May 2024

Blanchard, Robert

HMP ParcDate of death 4 June 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 26 March 2024

Charleston Cullen

HMP NottinghamDate of death 25 May 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 25 October 2024

Wayne Bayley

HMP PentonvilleDate of death 17 May 2022

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published7 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 1 November 2024

Thomas Cole

HMP NorthumberlandDate of death 13 May 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 18 December 2025

Jeremie Simmons

HMP WakefieldDate of death 4 May 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published6 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 22 November 2024

Wilkinson, Mark

HMP LewesDate of death 22 April 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 22 April 2024

Thomas Simmons

HMP HumberDate of death 20 April 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 6 December 2024

Lewis Petryszyn

HMP/YOI ParcDate of death 15 April 2022

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 29 April 2025

Mervyn Tedbury

HMP Isle of WightDate of death 3 April 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 4 September 2025

Mehrban Hussain

HMP Wormwood ScrubsDate of death 1 April 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 18 December 2025

Gordon Dunn

HMP The VerneDate of death 31 March 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 9 August 2024

Brian Johncock

HMP LewesDate of death 15 February 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 15 October 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