An Irishman who hanged himself in London's Brixton Prison last year died after prison officers failed to respond to an alarm in his cell, an inquest was told last week.31-year-old Corkman Michael Barry died in G wing of the south London jail on 30 March, 2001. He was the fourth Irishman found hanged in Brixton in a two-year period.

The inquest at Southwark Coroner's Court heard that Barry had slashed his arms on 26 March. Two of his fellow prisoners testified that he had blamed his actions on the callous manner in which prison officers had given him news of a bereavement that day.

A prisoner identified in court only by his surname, Dixon, said: "He told me the officer opened the door, and said 'Your brother's just died in a car crash,' and shut the door on him." An Irish prisoner, identified only as Bellringer, testified: "He said the officer told him his brother had died in a car crash. He asked for some medicine. He didn't get it and he cut his wrists."

After cutting himself, Barry pressed his cell alarm, activating a buzzer and a light outside the cell. A prison officer attended and Barry was put on suicide watch.However, the next day Barry was removed from suicide watch by a Dr Pandya, who was working at the prison as a locum. Dr Pandya admitted in court that he was not familiar with the suicide risk procedures and that he had not held a proper case conference. He nevertheless stood by his clinical judgement, saying: "Even today, I would make the same decision."

On the day of his death, Barry was locked into his cell after the evening meal at about 5.00pm. He was not observed again until he was found dead at 8.30pm.Prisoner Bellringer testified that he saw the alarm light activated outside Barry's cell twice during this period. "About 5.30pm I pressed my buzzer and saw his light on," he said. "I also noticed his light on at 8.00pm. "Officers turn the buzzer off quite frequently without seeing what's happening," Bellringer claimed.

Prison officers denied alarms could be turned off without visiting a cell. Asked "how do you know this happens?", Bellringer replied: "Because you press the switch and there is no buzzer, there is no bell. I didn't hear any buzzer, not even my own. I don't think the buzzers were on that night."

Tampering with cell alarm systems has been identified as a problem at Brixton in the past. In a report on an unannounced inspection of the jail in June 2000, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham, specifically mentioned the issue in relation to G wing. "We were extremely concerned to find that although the indicator lights worked all audible cell call bells were out of action," the report said. "One officer said that they had been off for several months. We attempted to switch them on in the main landing office on G1 but without success and later discovered that they had been sabotaged, the wires on each landing having been cut."Upon further investigation we found the problem was endemic throughout the prison as they had been pinned or taped off in all but B and D wings. Officers on each wing concerned had been fraudulently signing daily locks, bolts and bars records for the whole period the cell call bells had been switched off. "The cell bell call system should be on and should be in working order at all times," the report concluded. "Any officer responsible for sabotaging prisoners' cell call bell systems or fraudulently signing locks, bolts and bars records should be disciplined."

Coroner Selena Lynch said she could not put a verdict of contributory neglect to the inquest jury, "due to the causation issue".

The jury found that Barry killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed.

Terry Stewart of the Irish Deaths in Custody Campaign said of the case: "Everything right down the line has been removed in terms of protection for a vulnerable prisoner. It's not suicide, it's really death by neglect and there is clearly a need for an independent public inquiry into these deaths."

The Irish in Britain Representation Group noted that the Barry family were not represented at the inquest and called on the British government "to inform the Irish Embassy of all deaths of Irish nationals in such circumstances in prison or in police custody."

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Power failure

The verdict of Southwark Coroners' Court on the death of Michael Barry brings to an end a series of inquests into the deaths of four Irishmen in Brixton Prison, all of whom were found hanged over a two-year period.

The inquests produced an open verdict in the case of Timothy O'Shea, verdicts of suicide in the cases of Kevin Sheridan and Michael Barry and suicide with contributory neglect in the case of Derek Fegan.

Perhaps more importantly, the evidence at the inquests uncovered consistent themes in the treatment of the prisoners.One was a callous disregard for the prisoners as human beings which goes beyond the necessary austerity of a prison regime. Derek Fegan hanged himself in a segregation cell, where he had been taken after trying to get prison officers to ring his wife to find out the condition of his sick daughter. Michael Barry told fellow prisoners shortly before his death that a prison officer had casually told him of the death of his brother and locked him in his cell, refusing him medication.

That such experiences are not uncommon is demonstrated by the case of Christie McGrath, the Tipperary man fighting to overturn a murder conviction. He learnt of the death of his grandfather, when a prison officer chalked up the message: "Christie McGrath death in family," on a blackboard.

Another constant factor was the low standard of medical care in the prison system. Both Kevin Sheridan and Michael Barry were identified as suicide risks at various stages. Each was assessed by a doctor who admitted making procedural errors. Each doctor stood by their clinical judgement that the man in question was not a suicide risk, even after he was found hanged.

On both occasions, ambulances were held up at the prison gates. In Kevin Sheridan's case, vital medical equipment was missing.

The coroner's is a very narrow role, investigating the immediate cause of a person's death. Nevertheless, the various inquests have produced evidence to support many of the claims made against Brixton Prison by Irish prisoners last year.

It is all the more important, therefore to examine their allegations fully. The Commission for Racial Equality is already investigating racism at Brixton. It should extend its inquiry to cover the experiences of Irish prisoners and in particular allegations of harassment by veterans of the security forces in Northern Ireland.

In fairness, it should be pointed out that strong evidence backing the prisoners comes from one of the most senior veterans of the British army in the North.

In June 2000, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, ex-general Sir David Ramsbotham, held an unannounced inspection of Brixton. In G wing of the jail he found that the cell alarm bells had been sabotaged, although the alarm lights were working.

Less than a year later, an Irish prisoner testified that Michael Barry's cell alarm light was turned on the night he died, but that the bell was not working.

Sir David this week blasted the standard of healthcare in prisons. As many as 70 per cent of prisoners have personality disorders, yet physical and mental health provision is woefully inadequate."Their physical and mental health does matter, and it is something the public should know and protest about if their future safety is affected," he said.

Anyone who attended the inquests into the deaths at Brixton will recognise the picture Sir David paints. Four Irish families know through bitter experience that it is one of a failing system.

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