Jail governor 'right for change'

Steve Rodford is the new governor of Maghaberry Prison

The new governor of Maghaberry Jail is the "right man" to lead change at the prison, according to the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

Steve Rodford is due to take up his post later this month.

It follows a review into the death of a prisoner on suicide watch at Maghaberry. Colin Bell was found hanged in his cell last August.

Mr Rodford was governor of Whitemoor prison, England, where there were five suicides while he was in charge.

In January this year, the Prison Ombudsman, Pauline McCabe, published a report on Maghaberry, listing a catalogue of failings and made 44 recommendations for change.

One of them was that the governor and deputy governor of Maghaberry should face a disciplinary investigation.

A review was subsequently carried out to find out what went wrong and how Mr Bell, who was serving a life sentence for murder, was able to take his life.

But the review team decided not to discipline the prison's governor and deputy governor.

Colin Bell was found dead in 2008

They did, however, recommend that the two men should be replaced. The review also said the senior management team should be led by an experienced prison governor from outside Northern Ireland.

Mr Rodford will take up the post of Maghaberry governor within weeks. He will lead the proposals for reform after Mr Bell's suicide.

Mr Rodford began his career as a prison officer in 1988 in Wormwood Scrubs and subsequently became governor of the high-security Whitemoor prison in 2006, which has more than 400 inmates.

But there was concern that five suicides had taken place at Whitemoor in the space of 13 months.

At the end of last year, prison officers at Whitemoor passed a motion of no confidence in Mr Rodford.

In a statement, the Northern Ireland Prison Service said he was the "right man" to lead Maghaberry at a "difficult and challenging time" for the prison.

It said inquests into two of the suicides at Whitemoor found that appropriate levels of care had been given to the prisoners.

It also said there were no subsequent deaths in custody, mainly due to the initiatives instigated by Mr Rodford.

It said while a minority of Prison Officers Association members were unhappy with new work patterns, Mr Rodford was able to work closely with the union and won support for changes at Whitemoor.