Failure to bring charges in Jimmy Mubenga case 'perverse', says peer

A former chief inspector of prisons has condemned the decision not to bring charges against three G4S guards over the death of a detainee as "perverse", insisting a senior coroner should now oversee an inquest. Speaking during a House of Lords debate on Thursday , the crossbencher Lord Ramsbotham, called on ministers to ensure public funds would be available for an inquest into the death of Jimmy Mubenga, who died after being restrained by the guards on a British Airways flight. Ramsbotham's comments are particularly relevant as he is also chairing an independent inquiry into the use of restraint. The Home Office and G4S initially said Mubenga, a 46-year-old being returned to Angola, had been taken ill on the flight on 12 October 2010. However, following an investigation by the Guardian, which tracked down witnesses who said the detainee had been complaining of difficulty breathing when he was being restrained by the guards, and shouting "they are going to kill me", the guards were arrested and questioned on suspicion of manslaughter. On Tuesday, the Crown Prosecution Service announced it would not bring any charges against the guards , in part, it said, because it could not rule out that the death was caused by "a combination of factors such as adrenaline, muscle exhaustion or isometric exercise". Ramsbotham said: "I have to say that in the face of all the evidence that we have gathered during our inquiry, quite apart from all the other evidence that was available, I find that CPS decision, at kindest, perverse. "Passengers reported hearing Mr Mubenga cry out that he could not breathe and that the guards were killing him. There had been Home Office warnings to G4S in 2006 about the dangers of using [restraint techniques that might lead to] positional asphyxia." The peer said there were parallels to be drawn with another case in which G4S staff restrained a person in their custody who died. "There had been stringent criticisms by the coroner in the case of Gareth Myatt, a 15-year-old who died in Rainsbrook secure training centre following the use of similar procedures for restraint by G4S guards," he said. "He, too, had called out that he could not breathe before he died." Ramsbotham added: "As an inquest is the only public forum in which this death can now be scrutinised, I ask the minister to confirm that this will be conducted as soon as possible by an experienced coroner, and that public funding will be made available to ensure full support for Mubenga's family."