European court rebukes UK over prisoner's death

The police and prison service were severely criticised by a European court yesterday over the treatment of a mentally ill man who was kicked to death by a schizophrenic cellmate.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Britain had breached the Human Rights Convention on four counts relating to Christopher Edwards. Mr Edwards, 30, was killed by Richard Linford, who had a history of violence, in Chelmsford prison in 1994.

His parents, Paul and Audrey Edwards, have spent six years trying to prove the authorities failed to look after their son. They were angry at the failure by agencies to pass on information about Linford's violent history to the prison authorities, and the action that followed the death.

The court ruled yesterday that the authorities not only failed to protect the life of Mr Edwards, but failed to investigate thoroughly or give his family proper access to open and rigorous inquiries and a remedy in the courts.

Mr Edwards was put in a remand cell on 28 November 28 1994 after being arrested for a breach of the peace. Linford was placed in the same cell, in which the emergency call system was defective.

Linford had been arrested for assaulting a friend and her neighbour and had a history of violent outbursts and assaults, including a previous attack on a cellmate in prison. Prison guards alerted by a continuous banging on the cell wall discovered Mr Edwards had been stamped and kicked to death. Linford admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility and was sent to a secure hospital.

The civil rights group Liberty said the resulting inquiry – commissioned by the local health authority, county council and the prison service – was run in private. It concluded that Mr Edwards and Linford should not have been in prison and should not have been sharing a cell.

Mr and Mrs Edwards said they were delighted by the court's ruling. "The obligation is now on the Government and on all the public agencies involved to see such a tragedy never occurs again," they said.

The couple said they hoped the ruling would lead to two key changes in the criminal justice system: that mentally ill offenders should be treated by skilled staff in secure surroundings rather than being "warehoused" in prison; and that the needs of the families of victims should be treated with respect and a proper investigation allowed.

A Home Office spokeswoman said that since Mr Edwards' death the police and prison service had improved lines of communication when prisoners were handed over.