The key facts

  • Two prisoners died at HMP Ranby on Wednesday
  • Nottinghamshire Police have launched an investigation
  • The case has been referred to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman

Two prisoners have died at HMP Ranby

Two men died on Wednesday at HMP Ranby, a category C prison that prepares inmates for release, near Retford in Nottinghamshire. The deaths were announced by the UK Ministry of Justice, BBC News reports. Nottinghamshire Police have launched an investigation: Detective Inspector James Oukton said the police are working closely with the prison service to establish the circumstances of the deaths, and that a thorough investigation is under way. According to him, support is being provided to the families of the deceased.

What is known and what remains unclear

A prison service spokesperson said that, as in all deaths in custody cases, an investigation will be carried out by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, and the department will respond to its findings in due course; no further comments were made for now. The circumstances and causes of the deaths, as well as the names of the deceased, were not disclosed in the report — at the time of publication they remained the subject of investigation.

Entrance of HMP Ranby, showing a brick reception building next to a metal mesh gateImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Two inmates died at HMP Ranby in Nottinghamshire on Wednesday