Ombudsman investigation begins as another HMP Five Wells prisoner dies

Roger Lemon was an inmate at HMP Five Wells before his death in hospital.

The 79-year-old was the fourth prisoner to die at the Wellingborough jail since September. He died on April 10, although the death has only just been made public.

Mr Lemon’s death is not believed to be suspicious, but it will nevertheless be investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), as are all deaths in custody.

Sources have told our reporters that Mr Lemon was taken to Northampton General Hospital following a becoming unwell.

Police attended and passed a file to the coroner.

A HMP Five Wells spokesperson said: “A 79-year-old prisoner died at an outside hospital on 10th April 2025.

“As with all deaths in custody, this will be investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and it is for the coroner to determine cause of death.”

There were no deaths at HMP Five Wells from when it opened in March 2022 up until September 2024. But since then, there have been four deaths recorded at the establishment run by G4S.

In October 2024 pensioner Harold Day died at Five Wells, and in December Kevin Golby from Banbury died at the prison. At first his death was treated as murder but that inquiry was dropped last month and no charges were brought. Then on Christmas day Reece Pryce died suddenly, but under no suspicious circumstances.

All of their deaths are still being investigated by the PPO.

An increased death rate in prisons can sometimes be indicative of issues with staffing, training, healthcare, drug distribution or violence so it is vital that there is public scrutiny into custodial mortality rates.

Death tolls in prison rose by 10 per cent last year, which the Howard League for Penal Reform said was a ‘tragic consequence of the neglect and decay in a toxic system that has been asked to do too much, with too little, for too long’.

HMP Five Wells was initially set up as a step-down prison to ensure long-term inmates were ready for a return to normal life. But as the prison crisis has deepened it has become home to more risky prisoners.