Leeds prison officers sacked over inmate's death

Four officers were dismissed after an internal investigation

Four prison officers have been sacked for failing to carry out welfare checks on a prisoner who was later found dead.

Darren Horner, 44, died of methadone poisoning and inhaling vomit at HMP Leeds in September 2018.

A Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report said it was "unclear" if Mr Horner would have survived had the checks been carried out.

Mr Horner was serving a 10-week sentence for failing to report to court.

Ombudsman Sue McAllister said Mr Horner, who had a history of drug use, had received a good standard of care, similar to what was available in the community, following his arrival at the prison on 6 September 2018.

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She said an internal investigation revealed no checks were performed on Mr Horner on the evening of 21 September or the morning of 22 September.

"[The investigation] found that they did not carry out these checks as they should have done," she said.

"These failures resulted in disciplinary action and the subsequent dismissal of four prison officers."

An officer did not check on him when his cell was unlocked at 09:50 BST and shortly afterwards a fellow inmate found him unresponsive on the floor.

Mr Horner was pronounced dead by paramedics at 10:14 BST.

"We cannot say whether the outcome would have been any different for Mr Horner if the checks had taken place," Ms McAllister added.

A separate report into the death of a terminally-ill patient at HMP Leeds has also been published by the ombudsman.

Guy Paget, 73, died on 16 March 2021 in an ambulance in the prison grounds.

He had been jailed for 14 years for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in 2017 and was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer while in prison.

While his care had been good, Ms McAllister said when the emergency ambulance transporting Mr Paget tried to leave the prison the main gates would not open and there was confusion over the paperwork required.

Ms McAllister said the decision to allow him to die in the grounds rather than rush him to hospital after his health deteriorated was appropriate given he had a "do not resuscitate" order in place.

"However, we are concerned that the confusion about the paperwork and the failure of the prison gate to open immediately could make a critical difference in future medical emergencies," she said.

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