Prisoner's death may be linked to drug-soaked socks

A prisoner who died in his cell may have been given socks laced with drugs, an investigation has found.

Jamie Tate, 33, was found at HMP Manchester in 2021 with a vape under his face, a homemade pipe and burnt remnants of material.

An independent probe by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman raised concerns about easy access to drugs at the jail.

A spokesman for the jail, commonly known as Strangeways, said the findings had been accepted.

The spokesman added steps had been taken to try to limit the number of drugs getting into the prison.

There were reports from inside the jail of inmates at the high-security prison ripping up and smoking clothes doused in psychoactive substances, ombudsman Sue McAllister found.

Prisoners said the contraband was being smuggled in by their family and friends at the time of the prisoner's death, her report added.

Socks sent to another prisoner had been seized and test positive for opiates.

The investigation found Tate had a history of substance misuse and suffered from seizures and psychosis, for which he was prescribed various medications.

The cause of his death could not be determined in a post-mortem, but the ombudsman's report said it could have been caused by seizures, medication, or illicit drugs.

Tate was jailed for 11 years in 2014 for aggravated burglary, assault and false imprisonment, and later sentenced to another four and a half years for taking prison staff hostage and assaulting them.

Ms McAllister said his appointments with mental health and substance misuse services were "not always organised", adding "more should have been done to engage" with him in the months before his death.

But the ombudsman said she understood the "difficulties of maintaining meaningful contact with prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic".

She made a series of recommendations to improve the treatment of prisoners on medications, and the management of prisoner welfare appointments.

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