Coronavirus prisoner death toll hits NINE as 107 inmates and 19 staff test positive – after government announces 4,000 ‘low-risk’ convicts will be freed
- Three of the dead prisoners were inmates at HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire
- Others at Birmingham, Manchester, Altcourse, Belmarsh, Whatton, Low Newton
- 107 prisoners have tested positive in 38 jails plus 19 prison staff across 12 jails
- MPs set to grill Justice Secretary Robert Buckland about how system is coping
Nine prisoners have now died across seven different jails in Britain after contracting coronavirus.
Three were inmates at HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire, with others being held at Birmingham, Manchester, Altcourse in Merseyside, Belmarsh in South East London, Whatton in Nottinghamshire and a female prisoner at Low Newton, County Durham.
Some 107 prisoners had tested positive for coronavirus in 38 jails as of 5pm on Sunday. There are 19 prison staff in 12 jails who have contracted the virus as well as four prison escort and custody services staff.
Three inmates have died at HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire after contracting coronavirus
The news comes as MPs are set to grill Justice Secretary Robert Buckland about how the justice system is coping during the coronavirus outbreak.
Campaigners have hit out at the decision to hold today’s Commons Justice Committee hearing in private, prompting fears ministers could be escaping public scrutiny.
The committee said it could not take place in public or through a publicly available broadcast as normal ‘owing to current restrictions on parliamentary capacity, partly caused by the virus’.
Instead there will be live tweets posted on social media during the course of proceedings with a press release and a note ‘summarising the hearing’ published afterwards, rather than a full transcript or recording being made available.
MPs are set to grill Justice Secretary Robert Buckland (pictured outside Downing Street in London on March 17) about how the justice system is coping during the coronavirus outbreak
Committee chairman Bob Neill said in a statement that he ‘shares concerns’ about the meeting being less open than would usually be the case.
But he added that the House of Commons does not have capacity to record and broadcast the meeting, which the committee finds ‘as frustrating as anyone’.
On Saturday the Ministry of Justice announced up to 4,000 low-risk prisoners in England and Wales will be temporarily released from jail in an effort to try to control the spread of coronavirus.
It follows a similar decision to free pregnant prisoners and those behind bars with babies.
More than half of criminal and civil court buildings have been closed in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus, with only urgent hearings taking place, while prosecutors were issued guidance on how to prioritise cases.
The Prison Officers’ Association said on Sunday that two staff members at Pentonville Prison in North London had died after suffering Covid-19 symptoms,
Bovil Peter and Patrick Beckford were both support staff workers at the jail, and were believed to be aged in their 60s.
POA national chairman Mark Fairhurst said: ‘My thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved with these tragic deaths – two at the same prison is very concerning.’
Mr Fairhurst said he did not know if either of the men had any underlying health conditions.