Earlier racist attack not investigated

An Asian prisoner was brutally assaulted in a racist attack at
Feltham Young Offender Institution just two months before the death
of Zahid Mubarek.

The evidence emerged last week during the final stages of phase one
of the inquiry. The victim suffered injuries including a broken
jaw, but staff did not refer him to hospital until 24 hours later,
Maqsood Ahmed, a Muslim prison adviser said.

The Commission for Racial Equality’s investigation later criticised
the then governor of Feltham, Nicholas Pascoe, for not taking any
action against the prison officers involved for their initial
failure to investigate the incident.

Ahmed raised the case in 2001 in a letter to Pascoe in which he
said: “I am deeply shocked to learn that staff at Feltham seem to
be very casual about this racist incident and have resumed
‘business as usual’ so soon after the death of Zahid
Mubarek.”

The inquiry will now move to phase two.