Peterborough prison bosses criticised after murder of inmate two days before release

Managers of Peterborough jail have been criticised following the murder of an inmate just days before he was due to be released.

Now Sodexo, which runs HMP Peterborough, in Savile Road, have been told that ‘three failures’ at the jail possibly contributed to the death of Gareth Jones.

Mr Jones (24) was murdered by fellow inmate Jordan Neale, on July 12, 2024.

Hudgell Solicitors, who represented the deceased man’s family, say that an inquest jury was told that Neale had followed Mr Jones into his cell and punched him in the head a number of times, causing him to fall backwards.

They say Mr Jones was found unconscious in his cell and was taken to Peterborough City Hospital, where he died the following day having suffered a traumatic basal subarachnoid haemorrhage.

The inquest was told that the day before the assault, and on the day of the assault, Neale had approached two prison custody officers on the wing, on five separate occasions, claiming that Mr Jones owed him vapes and saying that he wanted them.

Hudgell Solicitors state: “Witnesses at the inquest accepted this was prison intelligence that should have been reported, as it could indicate bullying or that a debt was owed.

“Neale attacked Mr Jones at around 4.30pm, during the mealtime, and when 80 prisoners were unlocked on the wing.”

The jury concluded that Mr Jones was unlawfully killed and also found that three key failures had possibly contributed to his death.

These were a failure to submit an intelligence report concerning that Neale had been seeking Mr Jones’ vapes as well as a failure to consider a referral, despite the fact that numerous

intelligence reports were submitted to officers concerning Neale in the weeks before Mr Jones’ death.

In addition it was found there was a failure to ensure that the wing was properly supervised during the mealtime on July 12 , 2024.

Soraya Mehdizadeh, of Hudgell Solicitors, said: “There were clear opportunities missed here to prevent this assault happening, and a clear failure by prison staff to follow guidelines which are in place to ensure any concerning or escalating behaviour of potentially violent inmates is dealt with appropriately.

“Neale was known to be a violent man, had been involved in a number of recent incidents of concern, and had made it clear that he had an issue with Mr Jones and that he felt entitled to his vapes.

“Despite all of this intelligence, when vapes were handed to prisoners, the officers left the wing effectively unsupervised, again against policy in place to ensure safety.

“This was an assault, and death in prison, that could and should have been prevented and lessons need to be learned.”

An HMP Peterborough spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Mr Jones' family and all those affected by his death.

“We recognise how difficult this process will have been for them.

“We note the conclusion of the inquest and continue to embed any learning from Mr Jones’ death.”