Hanged behind curtain

HAROLD SHIPMAN hid himself behind a window curtain where he was found hanging.

Prison Officers Association General secretary Brian Caton said the serial killer was checked in his single cell frequently through the night and was alive and well at 5am.

But, at the 6am check, Mr Caton said: “He’d hung himself from a ligature, thought to be strips of bedding, and had held the curtains around himself so no one could see him.”

Mr Caton added: “It would appear that Shipman settled in well at Wakefield. He hadn’t been on a suicide watch at all and wasn’t on a suicide watch at the time that he took his life.

“He was housed in a normal wing in a normal location, was checked regularly in accordance with the routines at Wakefield.”

Shipman was “one of many category A prisoners” in the wing.

He added: “Whilst it’s a loss of a human life, it’s a loss of one of the vilest humans in the country.”

Mr Caton also said Shipman had his privileges removed, including a television in his room, because of his “attitude and behaviour” towards staff and prison officers.

Steve Cox, a national executive committee member of the Prison Officers Association, defended the prison officers on duty at the time of Shipman’s death.

He said: “My understanding from talking to the staff is that every procedure was followed to the letter. There’s no blame because there’s no resources to watch prisoners 24 hours a day.”