Vulnerable offenders are dying because prison authorities are failing in their duty of care under "fundamental" human rights laws, according to a report into deaths in custody published this week.
MPs and lords have accused the government and prisons of neglecting article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to life.
The third report from the parliamentary joint committee on human rights slammed the "under-resourced and ramshackle" prison system and called for greater action against deaths in custody.
Between 1999 and 2003, 434 prisoners in England and Wales took their own lives.
Prisoners at risk with "multiple vulnerabilities" including substance misuse and mental health problems were being held "inappropriately" in prison.
The report highlighted the death of 16-year-old young offender Joseph Scholes in March 2002 as an example of the "successive failures" of the prison system in protecting children.
The report recommended the creation of a national expert task force on deaths in custody headed by the Home Office and the Department of Health.
Services 'might be failing prisoners'
11 March 2004
Jersey: Simon Bellwood 'unfairly sacked' inquiry finds
Councils failing to implement government guidance issued in 2002, study says
Lone parents, disabled and drug users face tougher benefits regime
Children's homes and disabled people's services exempt from strike
Government Legislation
17 July 2008
Private Member Bills
17 July 2008
Details of government consultations
11 July 2008
