Ombudsman meets with INQUEST Lawyers Group

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, Nigel Newcomen CBE, and several of his senior management team yesterday met with staff and the lawyers group from INQUEST, the independent charity providing free advice to people bereaved by a death in custody and detention.

The Ombudsman gave a presentation updating INQUEST representatives on the ongoing work of PPO investigating fatal incidents in custody. This was followed by a positive exchange on the issues arising from those investigations.

Deputy Ombudsman and Head of Fatal Incidents Investigation Michael Loughlin: “We updated them about our current performance, themes from recent self-inflicted deaths and the challenges we are facing with ever-increasing caseloads. We got some useful feedback about interview techniques and the interface between our investigations and inquests.”

You can view and download the Ombudsman’s presentation here.