Gordon Preece

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Independent investigation into
the death of Mr Gordon Preece,
a prisoner at HMP Frankland,
on 10 July 2025
A report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Third Floor, 10 South Colonnade Email: mail@ppo.gov.uk T l 020 7633 4100
Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU Web: www.ppo.gov.uk
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OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
© Crown copyright, 2026
This report is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0. To view this licence,
visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3
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1. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman aims to make a significant contribution to
safer, fairer custody and community supervision. One of the most important ways in
which we work towards that aim is by carrying out independent investigations into
deaths, due to any cause, of prisoners, young people in detention, residents of
approved premises and detainees in immigration centres.
2. If my office is to best assist His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in
ensuring the standard of care received by those within service remit is appropriate,
our recommendations should be focused, evidenced and viable. This is especially
the case if there is evidence of systemic failure.
3. In May 2016, Mr Gordon Preece was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexual
offences. He died in hospital on 10 July 2025, while a prisoner at HMP Frankland.
He was 80 years old. The Coroner has given the provisional cause of death as
cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart). We offer our condolences to Mr Preece’s family
and friends.
4. The Ombudsman’s office wrote to Mr Preece’s next of kin to explain the
investigation and to ask if they had any matters they wanted us to consider. They
did not respond.
5. NHS England commissioned an independent clinical reviewer to review Mr Preece’s
clinical care at Frankland.
6. The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Preece received at
Frankland was of a reasonable standard and was at least equivalent to that which
he could have expected to receive in the community. The clinical reviewer made
two recommendations not related to Mr Preece’s death that the Head of Healthcare
will wish to address.
7. The PPO investigator investigated the non-clinical issues relating to Mr Preece’s
care.
8. We did not find any non-clinical issues of concern. We make no recommendations.
9. We shared our initial report with HMPPS and the prison’s healthcare provider,
Spectrum Community Health CIC. They found no factual inaccuracies.
Adrian Usher February 2026
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Inquest
At the inquest, held on 20 May 2026, the Coroner concluded that Mr Preece died from
natural causes.
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman 1
OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
Third Floor, 10 South Colonnade Email: mail@ppo.gov.uk T l 020 7633 4100
Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU Web: www.ppo.gov.uk
OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE