Leslie Ginger

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Independent investigation into
the death of Mr Leslie Ginger,
a prisoner at HMP Peterborough,
on 7 January 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, 2025
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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 October 2024, Mr Leslie Ginger was remanded in prison, charged with sexual
offences. He died of heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD, the term for a group of serious lung diseases) on 7 January 2025, at HMP
Peterborough. He was 71 years old. We offer our condolences to Mr Ginger’s family
and friends.
4. The Ombudsman’s office wrote to Mr Ginger’s next of kin to explain the
investigation and to ask if they had any matters they wanted us to consider. They
had no questions but asked for a copy of our report.
5. NHS England commissioned an independent clinical reviewer to review Mr Ginger’s
clinical care at HMP Peterborough.
6. The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Ginger received at
Peterborough was of a good standard and equivalent to that which he could have
expected to receive in the community. The clinical reviewer made two
recommendations not related to Mr Ginger’s death, which the Heads of Healthcare
at Peterborough and HMP Bedford (Mr Ginger’s previous prison) will wish to
address.
7. The PPO investigator investigated the non-clinical issues relating to Mr Ginger’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 Ginger’s next of kin. They did not notify us
of any factual inaccuracies.
Adrian Usher June 2025
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Inquest
At the inquest, held on 30 July 2025, the Coroner concluded that Mr Ginger died from
natural causes.
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman 1
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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