Jeffrey Ford

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Independent investigation into
the death of Mr Jeffrey Ford,
a prisoner at HMP Littlehey,
on 31 July 2024
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, 2025
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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OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
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. On 13 March 2022, Mr Jeffrey Ford was sentenced to 13 years in prison for sexual
offences. He died of lung cancer on 31 July 2024, at HMP Littlehey. He was 72
years old. We offer our condolences to Mr Ford’s family and friends.
4. The Ombudsman’s office contacted Mr Ford’s wife to explain the investigation and
to ask if she had any matters she wanted us to consider. She had no questions but
asked for a copy of our report.
5. NHS England commissioned an independent clinical reviewer to review Mr Ford’s
clinical care at Littlehey.
6. The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Ford received at Littlehey
was of a good standard and equivalent to that which he could have expected to
receive in the community. She made no recommendations.
7. The PPO investigator investigated the non-clinical issues relating to Mr Ford’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,
Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. They found no factual
inaccuracies.
10. We sent a copy of our initial report to Mr Ford’s wife. She raised some factual
inaccuracies and queries regarding the clinical reviewer’s report. This has been
amended and the revised version is attached to this report.
Adrian Usher
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman January 2025
Inquest
The inquest, held on 30 May 2025, concluded that Mr Ford died from natural causes.
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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