Bullying culture could lead to more Shropshire prison deaths, coroner warns

John Ellery is concerned for the welfare of inmates at HMP Stoke Heath.

The Shropshire coroner has written to the Ministry of Justice following the death of Derrick Rose-Fowler.

The 44-year-old was half-way through his six-year sentence when he was discovered hanging in his cell at Stoke Heath, near Market Drayton.

Prison warders carried out CPR and he was rushed to Princess Royal Hospital in Telford but pronounced dead.

During the inquest the jury heard from prisoners and warders who said that although bullying was rife in the prison, Mr Rose-Fowler had not suffered from it.

The jury returned a narrative conclusion that Mr Rose-Fowler died on June 5 last year as a result of an intended act that had unintended consequences.

But in his report, which was also sent to the governor of Stoke Heath Prison John Huntington, Mr Ellery said: "During the course of the inquest the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern.

"In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths will happen unless action is taken."

During the inquest Mr Rose-Fowler's mother Adeline Rose said her son had asked "under duress" to transfer money to someone on the outside of the prison.

After the inquest Mrs Rose said: "My son was being bullied but none of the staff listened to his pleas or cries for help. It is our view that his death could have been avoided had he received the proper support."

In the report Mr Ellery says: "There was evidence bullying was 'rife'. While the majority of the evidence at the inquest indicated the deceased was not himself being bullied, there was some evidence he was.

"The prison has a 'tackling bullying behaviour' policy but there is concern as to how effectively it was implemented on the complaints raised by the deceased himself that he was, in terms, being bullied."

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "We take our duty of care to prisoners extremely seriously and we make every effort to learn from each death in custody.

"We are investing £1.3 billion to transform the prison estate over the next five years to better support rehabilitation and tackle issues such as bullying and violence.

"We are carefully considering the coroner's report in this case and will respond in due course."

The prison has until June 17 to respond.