Prisoner Barry Cavan dies at Maghaberry Prison

A second man has died in custody at the high security prison in less than two weeks

The prisoner who died at Maghaberry Prison in County Antrim was Barry Cavan, from Belfast.

It is understood he took his own life.

Mr Cavan was sentenced to 13 years in 2013 after he admitted murdering David Corr in the New Lodge area of Belfast in 2012 in a dispute involving loud music.

In a statement, the Prison Service said the man's next of kin have been informed. It is the second death at Maghaberry in less than two weeks.

BBC News NI home affairs correspondent Vincent Kearney

I'm told that he had a history of self-harming but at this stage we don't know if he was considered a suicide risk

I understand he died after injuring himself in the prison on Tuesday night

His is the fifth death in Maghaberry in the last year

Of the previous four, one of those deaths was due to natural causes, the other three were deaths by suicide

On 5 November, 44-year-old Gerard Mulligan also took his own life.

Mr Mulligan had been on remand charged with murdering his father, Gerald Mulligan, in September.

Phil Wragg said any death in custody was an 'absolute tragedy' but could not give assurances that it would not happen again

The Prison Service said the PSNI, coroner and prisoner ombudsman will conduct a full investigation into the circumstances of what happened.

The acting director general of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, Phil Wragg, said any death in custody was an "absolute tragedy" but could not give assurances that it would not happen again.

"We are at the moment in the hands of the police who are conducting an investigation into the death that was not suspicious," he said.

"We informed the coroner and the prisoner ombudsman to complete independent investigations into the death so whilst the investigation is ongoing it would not be appropriate for me to discuss the specifics of the case."

'Restraints'

The Northern Ireland branch of the Prison Governors' Association (PGA) said it was "very sad" and "regrettable" that another life had been lost at Maghaberry and said their thoughts were with Mr Cavan's family.

It said there were a number of restraints under which prison staff were operating, including staff shortages, recruitment and retention issues and drugs and mental health challenges among prisoners.

"The reality is that while prisons are not therapeutic communities staffed by qualified nurses, who are better placed to deal with people with extreme mental health problems, our members and their staff do save lives on a daily basis, 365 days a year," the PGA said in a statement.

"The recent incidents of self-harm and self-inflicted deaths in custody need to be put into context and the problems already highlighted above are not helping when looking after the many challenging and vulnerable prisoners in our care.

"The PGA would welcome a cross-departmental "task force", led by the department of justice, but also including the departments of finance and health, as in our view a holistic approach is required to redress the legacy of 'cuts too deep, too quickly'."