'Dirty' prison was indication of culture - ex-director

HMP Lowdham transferred from private providers Serco to Sodexo in February 2023

A former director of a prison said its "dirty" condition when he first joined was an "early indication" of the culture there, an inquest has heard.

Martin Booth was the director of HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire where three inmates died in their cells in March 2023.

Nottingham Coroner's Court is hearing an inquest into the deaths of prisoners Anthony Binfield, David Richards and Rolandas Karbauskas.

On Friday, area coroner Laurinda Bower challenged Mr Booth on the measures in place to resolve problems at the jail.

On his arrival at HMP Lowdham Grange from HMP Ashfield as director in February 2022, Mr Booth said he conducted a walk of the site "covering about every square inch of the prison".

"The condition of the prison - that indicated to some extent the performance and culture of that time," Mr Booth added.

"I was quite shocked, as far as I felt the prison was dirty. The system in place to keep the prison clean was not great. There was insufficient equipment available."

Mr Booth was the director of the prison between February and November 2022 under private provider Serco, before returning to the post under new provider Sodexo the following year.

He was on gardening leave from his post between November and December, and away for a further period of annual leave until January.

The prison was later taken over by the government

The court previously heard how the decision to place Mr Booth on gardening leave was related to his upcoming role in the mobilisation from Serco to Sodexo.

The court also heard how early into Mr Booth's tenure at the prison, a number of inquests were being held or had been held into previous deaths in custody, which he said he was aware of.

Ms Bower said inquests held in May and December 2022 found the same "legacy issues" explored in the current investigation - including staff not carrying out proper checks and "risk-pertinent information" not being handed forward.

"What we see, sadly, is some of those issues that were prevalent in deaths previously, they seem to occur again and again," she said.

Mr Booth said notices and instructions made to address problems were communicated to staff and that senior managers were expected to ensure they were "received and understood".

However, he said, he could not point to any evidence of measures to test the effectiveness of those actions at HMP Lowdham Grange, "given the timing of those cases".

Staffing challenges

The inquest also heard this week that the healthcare provision at the prison at the time of the three deaths was under pressure and low staffed.

There was an "absence of leadership" and a "high staff turnover", the court heard.

Nicola Scoggins, area manager for offender health at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – the prison's healthcare provider – told the court there was a "breakdown in the relationship" between healthcare and prison staff during the period of transition from Serco to Sodexo.

Staffing challenges had also impacted night cover, which the trust was commissioned to provide at the prison until 24 March 2023.

It meant there was no night cover, when there should have been, including on 6 March when Anthony Binfield, the first of the three prisoners, was found dead in his cell.

The inquest continues.