MP’s transgender prisoner fight

A Fylde coast MP has pressed the government on the issue of transgender prisoners in the week a second transgender woman, held in a men’s jail, died.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Dec 2015, 05:15 BST
MP Cat SmithMP Cat Smith
MP Cat Smith

Fleetwood MP Cat Smith, shadow minister for women and equalities, asked in Parliament how many transgender prisoners had been held in a segregation unit in the past 12 months, how many prisoners had been identified as transgender in the past year, and how many had been placed in vulnerable prisoner units or Care in Custody systems.

Caroline Dineage, minister for Equalities, told her: “This information is not held centrally. As my hon Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation, committed to the House on 20 November, my Department will publish data on the number of trans people in prison in due course.”

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Joanne Latham, 38, was found hanged at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes in the early hours of Friday.

The prisoner, serving life for three attempted murders, had blockaded her cell door. Last month, Vikki Thompson, 21, was found dead at HMP Leeds after stating she would kill herself if sent to a men’s prison.

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Related topics:FyldeCat SmithFleetwood