Ministers 'indifferent' to prison suicide rise

Ministers' "indifference" to the rise in prison suicide rates is "concerning", Deborah Coles has said.

The co-director of the charity Inquest - which helps the families of people who die in custody - told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a failure to reduce the UK's prison population size in future will result in the "ongoing deaths of men, women and children".

Prison suicides in England and Wales have risen by 52% since 2011-12, according to Ministry of Justice statistics.

They reveal that 87 inmates took their own lives over the 12 months to September 2014, compared with 57 in the year to September 2012.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday 14 November 2014.

  • UK