Nurse working for police charged over custody death

William Cameron died after he was taken into custody at Loddon Valley Police Station

A former nurse, who was working with Thames Valley Police, has been charged with manslaughter following the death of a man in custody.

It follows an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into the death of William Cameron, 38, after he was taken into custody at Loddon Valley Police Station, near Reading, in 2020.

Sean Cregg, 35, who worked for Mountain Healthcare - a procured service provider for the force - has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and a further charge under section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 1 July.

Mr Cameron had been arrested and taken into custody on 8 January 2020 and died later that day in hospital.

The IOPC investigation began the same day and concluded in March 2021.

That month, it said it sent a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider potential criminal charges.

"Following the referral, we received requests from the CPS for further material to assist with its decision-making," it said.

Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS special crime division, said: "It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."

A police sergeant, who was also referred to the CPS, will not face charges, the IOPC said.

'Safety is priority'

A spokesperson for Mountain Healthcare sent its "deepest condolences" to Mr Cameron's family.

It added: "We cannot comment on the case given the ongoing legal proceedings.

"However, we can confirm that Mr Cregg has not worked in any of our services since the time of the incident in 2020 and is not employed by us in any capacity.

"Our priority continues to be the safety, dignity and wellbeing of the people our highly specialist teams support in custody, and this is underpinned by regular independent assessments confirming the excellence of our safety and training processes."

Thames Valley Police said: "It would be inappropriate to comment whilst there is ongoing legal proceedings, our thoughts remain with Mr Cameron's family and loved ones."