The interim Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Brendan McGuigan, has made 11 recommendations following an investigation into the death of David O’Driscoll.

Mr O’Driscoll, 30, died at Maghaberry Prison in August 2016 after he was found hanged in a cell in the prison’s committal house, seven hours after arriving at the prison on the same day.

The investigation report found that a few hours before his death, Mr O’Driscoll’s mother had telephoned the prison to raise concerns about her son’s welfare after he had called her home from the committal house and threatened to kill himself.

After making enquiries, the Day Manager on duty at Maghaberry returned Mrs O’Driscoll’s telephone call and reassured her that her son was fine. Mr O’Driscoll died later that evening.

The investigation identified that no one had spoken directly to Mr O’Driscoll about the call he had made to his mother’s home, and the reassurance given to Mrs O’Driscoll was based on earlier interactions an officer on the committal landing had with him.

Mr McGuigan’s report on the death makes 11 recommendations for improvement, the majority of which have been accepted by the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) and the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT).