Robert Stewart: Wrote racist letter

Prison officer Steven Martindale said killer Robert Stewart was considered dangerous, but not racist.

Staff intercepted a letter containing racist abuse before Stewart killed cellmate Zahid Mubarek in March 2000.

Clashing with lawyers, Mr Martindale angrily denied his opinion of racist incidents contributed to the death.

Stewart, now serving a life sentence for the murder, was transferred to Feltham Young Offenders' Institution in January 2000.

The prisoner was initially placed in a single cell on his arrival at Feltham because there was a "gut feeling" among some staff that he could be dangerous.

Two days after his arrival, prison officer Deborah Hogg intercepted Stewart's outgoing mail amid suspicions he harboured racist tendencies.

The letter she opened included specific threats against Asians - and Ms Hogg alerted her superior, Steven Martindale.

Letter returned

Giving evidence, Mr Martindale said he had a policy of avoiding a "heavy-handed" approach with new inmates in order to smooth arrivals.

Feltham: Racism low on agenda, said officer

Ms Hogg should tell Stewart the letter was unacceptable but not take any further action, he said.

At the time, Feltham had a policy of recording racist letters in a special log and of alerting the prison's racial incidents chief.

Questioned by counsel to the inquiry Nigel Giffin QC, Mr Martindale said he had only become aware of Stewart's record after having dealt with the letter.

The security file on Stewart, compiled by other prisons and passed to Mr Martindale by another officer, was "one of the biggest I had ever seen" he said.

However, he insisted the letter had not been serious enough to merit further action, because the files did not speak of Stewart being a racist.

Pressed further, Mr Martindale said he did not believe written abuse constituted racism.

Asked if a prisoner drawing a swastika and writing racist death threats was a racial incident?" Mr Martindale said it was.

"Even though it is in writing?"

"I see what you are saying, yes."

Mr Martindale agreed that Feltham's culture was one where the reporting of racial incidents "was not something that loomed particularly large" in officers' minds.

"Would it be fair to suggest generally that perhaps this letter was not a matter that you took at the time particularly seriously?"

"That is correct," he replied.

Refusal to answer

Patrick O'Connor, counsel for the Mubarek family, asked Mr Martindale why he had not taken formal action on Stewart's letter after reading his security file.

Zahid Mubarek: Murdered night before his release

"Did you not, at any time, see any particular threat to the safety of black inmates?" asked Mr O'Connor.

"Not at the time, no," said Mr Martindale.

"Is that because you have a blind spot in relation to racism?"

"I do not think so, no."

"But you accept now with hindsight there was such a threat - have you any explanation for why you did not then see what is now obvious?"

"No I have no explanation."

Mr O'Connor said Mr Martindale's strategy of avoiding confrontation with new inmates was nothing more than "nonsense".

"It is because of your attitudes to racism that the letter was given back?" said Mr O'Connor.

"You are completely on the wrong track," Mr Martindale angrily responded.

"You simply did not care about racism, did you?"

"You are going right up the wrong tree ... I am not going to answer any more of your questions, I'm sorry."

Mr Justice Keith persuaded the witness to continue, saying he was not prepared to stop Mr O'Connor's line of questioning because it was relevant to the inquiry.