Police and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman are investigating the death of a 16-year-old boy at Feltham Young Offender Institution in south-west London. The teenager was found unresponsive on Monday night and was taken to hospital, where he died shortly before midnight.
This is the first death of a child in a young offender institution in England or Wales since June 2019. The Metropolitan Police said the death is being treated as unexpected, with a post-mortem examination scheduled for Friday 24 April.
Deborah Coles, director of the charity Inquest, said: 'No child should be dying in the care of the state, let alone a prison. It is clear that imprisoning children will always be harmful and never be safe.'
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the social justice charity Nacro, added: 'While we don't yet know all the details, it is clear that the youth custodial estate is not fit for purpose. The government must expedite its reforms of the youth justice system.'
