Prison officer was suspended after probe into death

A prison officer working on the day an inmate died was suspended following a disciplinary hearing, an inquest heard.

Matthew Osborne was found in his cell on the segregation unit at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire on 25 November 2023.

An inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court previously heard the 39-year-old had not been checked for about two hours before he was found hanging.

On Wednesday, Kelton Wardle said he could not explain how his details were initialled next to checks on Osborne on the day he died, which CCTV showed were not carried out.

Wardle told the inquest he had been working at the Category B jail for more than six years, and was transferred to the segregation unit about a year before Osborne's death.

At the time, Lowdham Grange was run by Serco, before it transferred to Sodexo on 16 February 2023. It was the first transfer of a prison between private providers in England and Wales.

Wardle said he received no specific training on segregation units beforehand, but knew about the check system on vulnerable prisoners known as assessment, care in custody, and teamwork (ACCT).

He told jurors the segregation unit was frequently understaffed and had officers cross-deployed to other wings, describing the prison as "awful" and "horrible".

"I would ask for support, but it would vary if I would get it or not," he said.

Wardle said he knew Osborne, who had been at the segregation unit since 3 October 2023, and said his mood could switch quickly, but said he did not know about his mental health history or previous suicide attempts.

He said he could not remember discussing the inmate's case at a meeting on 2 November, which came about a week after a GP had called for an urgent review that was not carried out.

On 25 November, he said he saw Osborne at his cell with colleagues at about 09:15 GMT before carrying out duties with another prisoner, and was mostly in the segregation unit office from 11:30 until 13:00, when he went on a lunch break.

When asked why his initials were written down next to four ACCT checks that CCTV footage showed were not performed, he said it "doesn't look like my handwriting" and said he wrote his entries in a different way.

"I've no recollection at all regarding this," he said.

"I always sign my documents as Wardle [a full surname not using initials] - I always have done."

Wardle told the court there was a "common practice" among other staff of writing down estimated times for checks, but said he was fastidious as he was "terrified" when filling in documents.

He said he could not remember when he first learned through "gossip" there were concerns about his name being linked to ACCT checks recorded but not carried out.

The court heard he was suspended in January 2024 before a disciplinary hearing began in July, where he received a warning.

Wardle said the environment in the prison at the time of Osborne's death was "awful", adding: "The job then was impossible - it really was."

The inquest continues.

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