Murder probe launched after inmate dies at one of Britain’s newest £253 million super-jails

A MURDER investigation has been launched after a prisoner was killed at one of Britain’s newest super-jails.

Police were called to HMP Five Wells this morning after a 49-year-old man was found dead.

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody. 

The incident comes as Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is due to set out her 10-year plan for building prisons - including more like Five Wells. 

In summer Ms Mahmood used the jail to make a speech setting out her plan to release thousands of prisoners early in a bid to free up space behind bars. 

The prison in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, only opened in 2022 and cost £253 million to build. 

It is operated by security firm G4S and houses about 1,700 male Category C prisoners. 

Five Wells has faced severe staffing shortages with one report highlighting that only 272 of the almost 750 staff hired since it opened had stayed less than two years after it opened.

It has been reliant on officers on loan from other prisons to remain operating.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesperson said: “Officers were called to reports of the sudden death of a 49-year-old man at His Majesty Prison Five Wells in Wellingborough at about 9.30am today (Tuesday, December 10). 

“Detectives from East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) Major Crime team have launched an investigation and are working closely with the prison to establish the circumstances which have led to the man’s death. 

“A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody.”

A HMP Five Wells spokesperson said: “A 49-year old man died on Tuesday 10 December 2024 at HMP Five Wells. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

"We can confirm that Northamptonshire Police are investigating the circumstances of his death.”

In March a prisoner was stabbed more than 30 times by a fellow inmate in the jail.

Teenager Romeo Barnett was handed an 11-year extended sentence after attacking a man behind bars with a makeshift knife. 

An inspection in January found that drugs were widely available to inmates and prisoners were not being properly supported by staff. 

A follow up review, which was carried out in November, found that it had made “good progress” in staff-prisoner relationships, wellbeing and social care and health.

Self-harm rates were high, with 26 serious incidents in the last six months. 

Speaking during justice questions in the House of Commons today the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she would set out a plan for building 14,000 new cells in the next 10 years. 

She said: “I’m sure his constituents will also recognise that even with the new supply that we are building, we are still going to run out of prison places because the demand into the system is much higher than the building that is being planned.

“We simply cannot build our way out of this problem, so in order to make sure there’s always a prison place for the people that need to be locked up and that we never run out of prison places again, we do have to have an independent review of sentencing.”

She added: “Later this week I will set out a realistic plan for building the 14,000 prison places that we need in my 10-year capacity strategy and I will ensure that our prisons are never left on the point of collapse again.”

Chairman of the Justice Committee Andy Slaughter had described some of the UK’s existing prisons as “little more than a human warehouse”.

The Labour MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick said: “The condition, especially of our Victorian prisons, is not conducive to rehabilitation or preparation for life on release. The Government is pressing ahead with the construction of 20,000 new prison places, which their predecessor failed to honour.

“What thought in the design and operation of these major new prisons has been given to the training, education, addiction and mental health needs (of) inmates for whom prison is currently little more than a human warehouse?”