Prison officer didn’t spot murder weapon

Prison officers failed to spot a broken table leg which was used to
beat Asian teenager Zahid Mubarek to death, a public inquiry has
heard.

Mubarek, 19, was killed by his racist cellmate Robert Stewart, then
also 19, at Feltham Young Offender Institution in March 2000.

In his statement to the inquiry this week, Stewart claimed he had
broken off the table leg in his cell about five days before the
attack to use as a weapon.

Sundeep Chahal, a prison officer, admitted that he had carried out
a cell search on the morning of the murder but failed to notice the
faulty table.

In a police statement shortly after the killing, Chahal had denied
that searches had taken place, but prison office records later
showed he had conducted a basic check.

He admitted the leg would have been discovered if he had shaken the
table, but said the “lock, bolts and bars” search was “not meant to
be thorough”.

The inquiry continues.