The fiancee and five-year-old daughter of a Shropshire teenager who hanged himself in a young offenders institution are as much “victims” of state failures as he was, a top judge heard.

When Karl Lewis, 18, took his own life at Stoke Heath YOI five years ago, his girlfriend, Christina Morgan, and daughter, Courtney – who was just a week old when he died – were left to grieve.

And now, in the first case of its kind, mother and daughter, from Shrewsbury, are mounting a bid for compensation over Lewis’s death from the Ministry of Justice, claiming violations of human rights and negligence.

Their barrister, Paul Bowen, said Lewis, who was living in Frankwell, Shrewsbury, when he was sentenced had a history of self-harm and more should have been done to monitor him and save him from himself.

In particular, he claimed two doctors who worked at Stoke Heath – but were employed by Shropshire Primary Care Trust – should “at the very least” have carried out further investigations into his mental state and referred him for specialist psychiatric assessment.

The Ministry denies all liability and, in a case which has very wide implications in the field of state responsibility, Mr Justice Supperstone is being asked to rule on the extent of the “duty of care” owed by the Secretary of State to Lewis.

Mr Bowen told the High Court in London yesterday that the Secretary of State owed “a positive protective obligation” under the Article Two of the European Convention on Human Rights – which enshrines the “right to life” – to protect vulnerable prisoners known to be at risk of self-harm.

He said there were powerful “public policy reasons” why the Secretary of State should be held to owe a non-delegable duty to prisoners like Lewis, who are locked up on his authority, and why Ms Morgan and Courtney should themselves be treated as “victims” under the Human Rights Act.

Given the widespread importance of the issues raised, Mr Justice Supperstone is expected to reserve his decision until a later date. Due to the imminence of the legal vacation at the end of this month, it may well be October before the judge gives his ruling.

The High Court hearing continues.

By Russell Roberts