Jail death 'possibly avoidable'

An inquest jury found the jail was "unsafe and unstable"

The stab death of a prisoner at a jail seen as unsafe was "possibly avoidable", ministers have admitted.

Wayne Reid, 44, of Birmingham, was stabbed in the chest by another inmate at HMP Rye Hill, on the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire border.

Three men were sentenced in April 2006 over his murder, which happened days before he was due to be released.

Prisons Minister David Hanson told Parliament the running of the jail was currently under examination.

Mr Hanson said they were hoping to find out "what lessons could be learned".

An inquest jury ruled last month that the prison was "unsafe and unstable".

A statement issued by the jail said that since Reid's death in 2005 changes had been made.

'Tragic death'

Leicestershire North West MP David Taylor asked the minister in the House of Commons what was being done to improve safety at that jail and others across the UK.

Mr Hanson said the government had received a letter from the coroner who carried out the inquest, outlining some of the issues that had been raised in the hearing.

He said: "We are working to see whether lessons can be learnt from the coroner's verdict into Wayne Reid's tragic and possibly avoidable death."

Rye Hill is a category-B prison run by private security company GSL.

Bisharat Chaudry, of Slough, Berkshire, and Ibrahim Musone, of Cricklewood, London, were convicted of Reid's murder.

Deedar Syed, 26, of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, was also jailed for disposing of a blood-stained jacket.