Antrim prison boss could face suicide death probe

A prison boss in the North could face a disciplinary investigation amid claims his staff were asleep when an inmate on suicide watch hanged himself in his cell, it was disclosed today.

The probe is likely to be recommended in a report due out tomorrow examining failures surrounding the death of Colin Bell at Maghaberry prison, Co Antrim, in August last year.

The 186-page report by prisoner ombudsman Pauline McCabe is expected to recommend disciplinary proceedings against the prison governor and deputy governor at the time – the first action of its kind in the UK.

The prisoner had a history of self-harm and was supposed to be under close watch while serving his sentence for murder.

But it is understood CCTV footage from the jail shows that prison staff were asleep when the 34-year-old died.

The report into the affair is expected to make 44 recommendations, including the proposal for further disciplinary proceedings.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) representative Ian Paisley Jnr today said he had seen an early draft of the report and was shocked by its contents.

“What I have seen and what I have discussed with several prison officers is probably one of the most disturbing and perplexing set of circumstances into serious institutional failure,” he said.

Mr Paisley told the BBC that he believed night warders, as opposed to prison officers, were introduced to monitor prisoners as part of an effort to save resources.

But he claimed video footage now showed the prisoner was not monitored as he should have been.

“The digital images demonstrate that instead of the prisoner being watched 24/7, and these are dangerous prisoners or prisoners that could self-harm, warders were asleep,” he said.

“Night guard duties were not only slouched or relaxed, but had actually set up camp-beds and gone to sleep in front of monitors."