Prisoners shouted for officers to unlock cell doors after a man was found unresponsive in his bed at HMP Liverpool. Brian Holland, 53, died at the prison in 2024, and a report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has demanded a review of radio provision after finding officers did not routinely carry radios during welfare checks.
Circumstances of death
Mr Holland was jailed for 21 months in February 2024 after being convicted of theft, threatening behaviour and possessing a knife. He had a history of a previous heart attack, substance misuse and opium dependence. At around 7.45am on July 8, 2024, an officer looked through the observation panel and believed Mr Holland to be asleep.
Just over an hour later, officers heard shouting from Mr Holland’s cellmate and other prisoners, calling for the cell door to be unlocked as Mr Holland was not “answering or reacting”. When the officer opened the door, he noticed Mr Holland was discoloured and his head was swollen. The officer had no radio and did not enter the cell, instead going to find another officer on the landing.
Medical emergency and response
The officer shouted to another officer that there was a “code blue” – a medical emergency where a prisoner is unresponsive or has breathing difficulties – and asked if she had a radio. The second officer looked in the cell and radioed a code blue at 8.56am. An ambulance was requested at 8.58am. Other officers and nurses arrived and moved Mr Holland to the floor. As signs of death were evident, they did not attempt resuscitation. Paramedics pronounced him dead at 9.13am.
Mr Holland died of heart disease and pulmonary emphysema. He was the 15th prisoner to die at Walton Jail since July 2021. Eight of those deaths were from natural causes, two were suicides, and two were drug-related. The clinical reviewer found that the care Mr Holland received was equivalent to what he could have expected in the community.
Ombudsman findings on radios
The ombudsman found that prison officers did not routinely carry radios while conducting welfare checks, which could cause delays in communicating medical emergencies. The ombudsman had previously raised concerns about radios at the prison. In the report, the ombudsman stated: “We have previously raised concerns about the allocation of radios. Although this has led to a change in policy to ensure that all staff carry radios during night state, we remain concerned that they are not routinely held during the key task of welfare checks.”
An action plan calls on the prison’s governor to “review the provision of radios to ensure that staff conducting welfare checks can radio emergency medical codes promptly”. The prison contributed to Mr Holland’s funeral expenses in line with national policy. Toxicology tests found several prescription drugs in Mr Holland’s blood, some not prescribed to him but largely within therapeutic levels. The ombudsman could not establish how he obtained them.
Broader prison concerns
In 2025, an HM Inspectorate of Prisons report found Walton Jail was being targeted by serious organised crime gangs using drones to deliver drugs and contraband. The inspector found a much-needed refurbishment had stalled, suicide and self-harm rates were high, and too many prisoners were “lying on their beds watching daytime television and taking drugs to pass the time”. In an update last month, chief inspector Charlie Taylor found living conditions were not good enough and older buildings still awaited refurbishment. He added drug recovery had strengthened but substance use remained too high. The prison had made good progress in supporting men in crisis, with self-harm rates reducing by a third since the previous inspection.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We have accepted and actioned the recommendations from the Prison and Probation Ombudsman, and have ensured that staff on all wings are provided with sufficient radios at all times.”
