Colin Taggart, 61, died at the privately-operated prison on July 20
HMP Altcourse is privately run by Sodexo(Image: Andrew Teebay)
An investigation is underway after a prisoner died at HMP Altcourse. Colin Taggart, 61, died at the privately-operated prison in Fazakerley on July 20.
A probe has been launched by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), an independent organisation which investigates every death in custody in England and Wales.
A HMP Altcourse spokesperson said: “We can confirm that one prisoner passed away at HMP Altcourse on July 20. The next of kin have been informed and our thoughts are with the families.
“All deaths in custody are investigated by the independent PPO, and therefore we are unable to comment further at this stage.”
No further details about Mr Taggart have been released. It is not currently known where the prisoner was from or what he was serving a prison sentence for.
Altcourse is a category B prison which holds up to 1,164 male prisoners who have either been convicted or are on remand. The prison is currently run by Sodexo, who took over management of the prison in June 2023 from G4S.
If you are a former prisoner at either HMP Altcourse or HMP Liverpool, or you have a family member currently at one of the prisons, please email your stories to the ECHO’s crime reporter at patrick.edrich@reachplc.com.
Inspectors assessed in November 2021 that safety outcomes at the prison were not “sufficiently good”, which was a deterioration since the previous inspection.
HMP Altcourse, Liverpool.(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The inspectors previously noted staffing challenges had a detrimental impact on the delivery of primary care, mental health and pharmacy services. However, they found the health care practitioners were “competent (and) interacted well with patients”.
There are currently eight open death investigations linked to HMP Altcourse currently being investigated by the PPO. The longest-running open investigation dates back to August 2024, while the most recent is Mr Taggart.
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