Shipman's death shocks prison experts

Harold Shipman’s death in a prison cell was “extremely worrying”, a senior probation officer said today.

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said he had learned from sources that Shipman was not deemed a suicide risk.

He was still checked frequently but irregularly – roughly every hour.

He said: “It’s extremely worrying that one of the most high profile prisoners in the country has committed suicide.

“If the prison authorities want to keep all high profile prisoners safe, then there are clear and substantial resource implications.”

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “Any death in custody is a tragedy for the individual, for the family and for the prison.

“High suicide rates show that the Prison Service is more often challenged in its duty to hold people safely and securely by those who attempt to kill themselves than by those who try to escape.”

Mark Leech, founder of ex-offenders’ charity Unlock and editor of the Prisons Handbook, said of Shipman’s death: “I’m not in the least surprised.

“Shipman was a very skilled general practitioner and he would have known the signs and symptoms that prison staff are trained to look for in terms of suicidal prisoners and it seems he successfully hid those symptoms.

“I don’t think there is any criticism that can be laid against the prison system in this case.

“It’s a tragedy whenever anyone kills themselves in prison, and that includes Harold Shipman because I prefer to look to the criminal rather than the crime.”