Serco has pleaded not guilty to breaching health and safety at work laws after a mentally ill prisoner killed a guard who was escorting him.

Lawyers acting for the security company, which is currently courting controversy for its running of the UK’s coronavirus (Covid-19) Test and Trace, told Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday that it denies one count of failing to ensure that staff were not exposed to risks to their health, safety and welfare.

Inadequacy and failure

Prosecutor Natasha Hausdorff said this failure had led to the death of custody officer Lorraine Barwell while she was on duty at Blackfriars Crown Court in June 2015.

She also said the incident had happened in the context of “inadequate staffing levels” and “inadequate training”. There had been a second incident at Woolwich Crown Court.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser sent the case to Southwark Crown Court to be heard on 17 May.

The court ruled that prisoner Humphrey Burke was unfit to stand trial for Mrs Barwell’s murder as he has paranoid schizophrenia. But a trial of the facts at the Old Bailey in 2016 found that he had carried out the fatal attack on the 54-year-old grandmother.

The court heard that he had kicked her twice, once in the arm or body and then a blow to the head, causing catastrophic brain injuries.

Mrs Barwell died in hospital from a brain haemorrhage two days later.

Story and images via PA News

By The Canary

This post was originally published on The Canary.