Worcestershire’s Long Lartin jail under fire over murder of inmate
Convicted killer Subhan Anwar was murdered by two fellow inmates in a Midlands prison. The establishment has been criticised after it was discovered they had taken 50 minutes to call for medical help, details were published in an official report about a hostage siege last year when the murder took place.
Inmates Gary Smith, 49, and Lee Newell, 45, tied up Anwar in his cell and strangled him with a pair of jogging bottoms. The two prisoners were already serving sentences for murders they committed during the 1980s and 1990s.
It was revealed the pair had taken hostages during earlier, but separate, prison sieges in 2007 and 2011.
They informed prison staff that they took Anwar hostage because they were ‘bored’. When they were asked why they had done it, one said through the door: “I am bored and it was something to do.
“I’m not joking – I think he is dead.”
Smith and Newell were told they would never be released for killing Anwar, they were convicted after a two week trial in Warwick Crown Court. Anwar himself was serving a life sentence for torturing and murdering the two-year-old daughter of his lover.
After Anwar’s murder, it was found that authorities took 50 minutes to call in paramedics, who then took a further 30 minutes to reach the prison’s rural location in South Littleton, near Evesham.
The report stated, “Both men had previously been involved in hostage-taking, but there had been no recent evidence to indicate that either of them posed any significant risk of violence to other prisoners.”
The prison was further criticised for the time it took calling an ambulance “While it would not have altered the outcome for the man, we consider that an ambulance should have been called as soon as it became apparent that there was the possibility of serious injury which would require immediate medical attention.
“When prison staff first became aware of the incident, they would not have been able to predict how soon medical attention could be given, and we note that because of the prison’s rural location it took almost 30 minutes for the ambulance to arrive.
“A delay in calling an ambulance could have serious consequences in future hostage incidents where a prisoner is still alive. We therefore make the following recommendation: the Governor of Long Lartin should ensure that in the event of a hostage incident, staff call an ambulance immediately if there is any indication that a prisoner has been, or could be, injured.”
A prison service spokesman said they would look closely into the inquest and learn lessons from this incident.
