Vulnerable prisoners inside one of the country’s most overcrowded prisons are being put at risk, a watchdog has warned, after 16 self-inflicted deaths in three years.
HMP Leeds recorded the highest number of suspected suicides of any adult men’s prison in England and Wales between 2022 and 2025.
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor found weaknesses in care on arrival, unacceptable delays in transfers to hospital under the Mental Health Act and insufficient day-to-day support is leaving prisoners at risk.
He called for the needs of vulnerable and mentally unwell inmates to be prioritised to “end the unacceptable numbers of suicides at the prison”.
Two more prisoners have taken their own lives since inspectors visited the prison in July, although deaths are classed as self-inflicted until a coroner has ruled them a suicide.
Almost eight in ten people held in the Category B reception prison are forced to share cramped cells designed for one person. Although the Victorian jail is only certified for 655 prisoners, it held 1,088 inmates when inspectors visited.
Andrea Coomber KC, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, blamed “chronic overcrowding” at the prison for putting lives at risk.
“If there had been 16 self-inflicted deaths in three years in any other state facility, there would be a national outcry and calls for a public inquiry,” she said. “What is being done to keep people safe?
“The urgent need for bold action to reduce the prison population is inescapable. This prison is holding 500 more men than, by its own measure, it can hold in safety and decency.”
Prison leaders have recently introduced random CCTV checks to ensure staff carry out mandatory checks on prisoners at risk of self-harm. It comes after the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman warned this summer of “widespread falsification” of vital checks on vulnerable prisoners.
However, inmates at Leeds told inspectors that, while they appreciated wing staff checking in on them, most officers did not give them time to talk and prisoners felt they did not care.
Around 40 per cent of inmates spend at least 22 hours in their cells with limited access to education, work and other activities, inspectors found.
Almost six in ten prisoners report feeling unsafe at some point during their stay.
The use of force had soared by 114 per cent since the last inspection in 2022, the report found, with 1,029 incidents recorded in the last 12 months. In the sample of cases inspectors reviewed, efforts to de-escalate clashes were too limited before officers resorted to force.
Thirty-seven per cent of surveyed prisoners said they had a drug or alcohol problem and 18 per cent said they had developed a drug or alcohol problem while at the jail.
Inconsistent staff relationships were a further challenge. Mr Taylor said: “While some staff demonstrated care and professionalism, others were disengaged or unhelpful.
“One-to-one work with prisoners had stalled, with fewer than 3 per cent of planned sessions delivered in the previous six months, and far too little had been done to tackle the very high levels of homelessness on release.”
Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said the findings “lays bare the human cost when prisons cannot meet the needs of their most vulnerable prisoners”.
She added: “The report highlights familiar patterns in prisons struggling to provide safe, respectful, and purposeful conditions: overcrowding, minimal meaningful activity, high levels of drug use, and limited support for constructive staff-prisoner relationships — all made worse by a highly transient population.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said:“This concerning report underlines the crisis this Government has inherited in our prisons. We are already taking urgent action to address the number of self-inflicted deaths at HMP Leeds, including improved staff training, and creating new specialised cells which ensure constant oversight of prisoners who may be at risk.
"We know there is more to do across the prison estate which is why we are also delivering the largest prison expansion since Victorian times and implementing landmark sentencing reforms to ensure prisons never run out of space again.”
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branchIf you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you
