Peter Turner

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Independent investigation into
the death of Mr Peter Turner,
a prisoner at HMP Swaleside,
on 6 February 2025
A report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Third Floor, 10 South Colonnade Email: mail@ppo.gov.uk T l 020 7633 4100
Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU Web: www.ppo.gov.uk
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OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
© Crown copyright, 2025
This report is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0. To view this licence,
visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3
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1. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman aims to make a significant contribution to
safer, fairer custody and community supervision. One of the most important ways in
which we work towards that aim is by carrying out independent investigations into
deaths, due to any cause, of prisoners, young people in detention, residents of
approved premises and detainees in immigration centres.
2. If my office is to best assist His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in
ensuring the standard of care received by those within service remit is appropriate,
our recommendations should be focused, evidenced and viable. This is especially
the case if there is evidence of systemic failure.
3. In February 2020, Mr Peter Turner was sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for
sexual offences. He died of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) on 6
February 2025 at HMP Swaleside. He was 85 years old. We offer our condolences
to Mr Turner’s family and friends.
4. The Ombudsman’s office wrote to Mr Turner’s brother to explain the investigation
and to ask if he had any matters he wanted us to consider. He was aware that Mr
Turner had been diagnosed with an AAA and asked for a copy of our report.
5. NHS England commissioned an independent clinical reviewer to review Mr Turner’s
clinical care at HMP Swaleside.
6. The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Turner received at
Swaleside was of a good standard and equivalent to that which he could have
expected to receive in the community. She made two recommendations not related
to Mr Turner’s death that the Head of Healthcare will wish to address.
7. The PPO investigator investigated the non-clinical issues relating to Mr Turner’s
care.
8. We did not find any non-clinical issues of concern. We make no recommendations.
9. We shared our initial report with HMPPS and the prison’s healthcare provider,
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. They found no factual inaccuracies.
10. We sent a copy of our initial report to Mr Turner’s brother. He pointed out a factual
inaccuracy in the clinical review. This has been corrected and reattached as an
annex.
Adrian Usher July 2025
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Inquest
At the inquest, held on 24 October 2025, the Coroner concluded that Mr Turner died from
natural causes.
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman 1
OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
Third Floor, 10 South Colonnade Email: mail@ppo.gov.uk T l 020 7633 4100
Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU Web: www.ppo.gov.uk
OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE