A baby has been found dead at Britain’s largest female prison after an inmate reportedly gave birth alone in her cell.
Surrey Police confirmed it launched an investigation into the "unexplained" death at HMP Bronzefield in Middlesex last Friday, the Mirror reports.
Vicky Robinson, director of the prison which is operated by Sodexo Justice Services, confirmed in a statement that a woman had given birth "but sadly the baby did not survive."
"We are supporting the mother through this distressing time and our thoughts are with her, her family and our staff involved," Ms Robinson said.
"We are undertaking a full review and working with all relevant authorities during their investigations. It would not be appropriate to comment any further.”
The woman was reportedly at an advanced stage of pregnancy and went into labour in her cell in the early hours of the morning, according to The Guardian.
What are the different types of prison?
HMP Bronzefield, which opened in 2004, is a Category A prison which houses 572 inmates and also houses a mother and baby unit.
Women whose babies are born in prison, or who already have a baby when they enter prison, can keep the infants with them until they are 18 months old.
A Surrey Police spokesman said: "We were called to HMP Bronzefield at 9.07am on Friday September 27 following reports of the death of a child.
"The death is currently being treated as unexplained and an investigation is continuing to establish the full circumstances of what happened."
South East Coast Ambulance Service also confirmed it had received a call from the prison at 8.30am and that one ambulance attended.
