Two prisoners held after child torturer killed in cell

A West Yorkshire Police handout photo of Subhan Anwar (left) who was jailed in 2009 for torturing and murdering two-year-old Sanam Navsarka (right) (West Yorkshire Police/PA Wire)

A child killer was kept hostage and murdered in his cell at a top security jail where inspectors have raised concerns about the safety of vulnerable prisoners.

Subhan Anwar, 25, who was jailed for a minimum of 23 years in 2009, was found dead on Thursday in his cell at Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire. Two men serving life sentences, aged 45 and 47, were being held on suspicion of murder.

Anwar, 24, was jailed for a minimum of 23 years in 2009 for murdering his partner’s two-year-old daughter who suffered 107 injuries at his hands during a month of torture.

Anwar put her into a tumble dryer and dumped her in the bin while her mother watched. Her tiny hand prints and bloodstains were found inside cupboards at the couple's home in Huddersfield.

The prison newspaper Converse reported that Anwar had been attacked previously at the prison. “He was a vulnerable prisoner who should have been cared for by the Prison Service – people like Mr Anwar have the right to be safe in prison, especially when the authorities are fully aware of the fact that he was at risk of attack,” solicitor solicitor Rhonda Hesling was quoted as saying by Converse. She was unavailable for comment when contacted by the Independent.

The prison, which has held prisoners including Abu Qatada and Jeremy Bamber, was criticised in a January 2012 prison inspection report for the conditions in which the most vulnerable prisoners were held in older wings.

A high number of vulnerable inmates said they did not feel safe, the report said. There were “relatively few violent incidents but those that did occur were often serious,” according to the report.

Two rows of cages were being used as a grim exercise yard for segregated inmates and the practice of ‘slopping out’ effectively continued on the vulnerable wing at night, it said.

Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons, cited Long Lartin during an interview with the Independent in 2011 when he describe the “disgusting” conditions at some prisons.