Feltham was in crisis during racist murder, inquiry hears

A culture of “defeatism” was rife among staff at
Feltham Young Offender Institution at the time of Asian teenager
Zahid Mubarek’s murder, an inquiry heard today,
writes Maria Ahmed.

Staff shortages led to “daily crisis management”,
Michael Cowan, head of operations at Feltham, told the public
inquiry into Mubarek’s death.

Mubarek, 19, was battered to death with a table leg by his
racist cellmate Robert Stewart in March 2000.

Cowan told the inquiry the prison was “under a great deal
of pressure” at the time of the murder.

Prison officers had “little time” to read prisoners
records, he addmitted.

The way information was passed around Feltham was “hit and
miss”, he added.

There were few procedures for assessing cell-sharing risks cells
were allocated on a “fairly random basis”, said
Cowan. 

The inquiry continues.