'Serious failures' at Huntley jail

Ian Huntley is charged with the murder of two schoolgirls

An inquiry into the apparent suicide attempt by the Soham murders suspect Ian Huntley has found a "number of serious systems failures" at Woodhill Prison.

The jail concentrated more on protecting Mr Huntley from other prisoners than from himself, according to a written statement to Parliament from the Home Office.

Mr Huntley, who is accused of murdering schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells, was taken to Milton Keynes General Hospital earlier this month after a suspected overdose at Woodhill Prison in Buckinghamshire.

The safe custody of Mr Huntley is an absolute priority for the Prison Service

Paul Goggins
Junior Home Office Minister

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident says procedures for dispensing medication to Mr Huntley "fell well short of acceptable standards and failed to take into account the risk of self-harm".

Junior Home Office Minister Paul Goggins said the report described "a completely unacceptable situation".

He insisted: "The lessons to be learned must be applied immediately and that the highest standards of supervision must be sustained from now on."

'Long shifts'

The officer investigating the incident says any failures were "corporate failures and not the failure of any one individual".

But the management of staff supervising Mr Huntley "did not fully recognise the full risks inherent in working long shifts without relief", he said.

Recommendations of the officer investigating the incident:

Probationary staff should not supervise Mr Huntley

One operational manager should have responsibility for the care of Mr Huntley

Security, including CCTV, at Woodhill should be reviewed by an independent person

Searching strategy should be reviewed

Audit of prescribing practice after three months

Specific integrated care plan for Mr Huntley

Mr Goggins said: "In essence, the systems for managing Ian Huntley concentrated more on protecting him from other prisoners than on the risk of self harm.

"The Prison Service should have given equal importance to both risks."

The report, which does not recommend any disciplinary action to be taken against individual officers, claims management and staff briefings were "not robust enough".

But it acknowledges the "complex multi-functional role" of the jail and the challenge this poses to managers and staff.

'Lack of clarity'

However, Mr Goggins said: "I have made it clear that the safe custody of Mr Huntley is an absolute priority for the Prison Service and that revised arrangements for his supervision must reflect this."

In the case of Ian Huntley's overdose, there were deficiencies in management, communication, searching practices, resourcing and the dispensing of medication

Danny Shaw, BBC Home Affairs correspondent

Lessons of Huntley inquiry

The report says that lines of accountability for the management of Mr Huntley "were unclear" - something the minister says must change.

Mr Goggins confirmed that the "serious systems failures" have "already been addressed and corrected".

The officer investigating the incident found management arrangements for Mr Huntley "lacked clarity, were not communicated well and failed to respond effectively to the developing needs of the circumstances".

'Astonishing'

"Deficiencies" included the searches of his cell taking place at predictable times, and no searches of places where items could have been stored outside Mr Huntley's cell.

The report prompted Mark Leech, editor of the Prisons Handbook, to call for the resignation of Peter Atherton, the Prison Service's head of the high security estate in England and Wales.

"This statement is astonishing in that it lists a whole range of serious failures at Woodhill prison and yet not a single person is to face any disciplinary action," he said.

Maxine Carr

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said: "It is absolutely essential that Britain's jails are adequately resourced with properly trained staff if this kind of failure is to be avoided in the future."

Shadow home affairs minister James Paice, whose South East Cambridgeshire constituency includes Soham, said: "This report proves what we have long suspected - that security in our prisons system is a complete shambles.

"Although we welcome the report's honesty, we remain concerned about whether its comprehensive recommendations will be implemented.

"Despite a Government initiative announced two-and-a-half years ago to reduce the number of suicides in prisons, they have actually increased by 29%."

A Prison Service spokesman said in response to Mr Leech's calls for a resignation: "The report and the minister's statement make it clear that the failings were corporate failings. The investigation is not a witch-hunt."

Mr Huntley, 29, is on remand awaiting trial for the murders of 10-year-olds Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in Soham, Cambridgeshire, last year.

Mr Huntley, who denies two charges of murder, is due to go on trial in October with Maxine Carr, also of Soham.

She denies two offences of helping an offender and a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.