SUICIDES in solitary confinement are on the rise as safeguarding of prisoners’ mental health is ignored, research by the prisons watchdog revealed today.

In their latest bulletin, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman blew the whistle on “segregation” practices inside British prisons which in 2013-14 resulted in eight deaths.

This figure is the highest in the last decade and accounted for 9 per cent of all suicidal deaths in prison last year.

According to the Ombudsman, exceptional circumstances forms had been completed by prison staff across the country “as a matter of routine.”

Prisoners earmarked as at risk of self-harm were still being held in solitary confinement and regular checks were not thoroughly performed.

The ombudsman’s Nigel Newcomen said: “Segregation is an extreme and isolating form of custody.

“It inherently reduces protective factors against suicide and self-harm, such as activity and interaction with others, and should only be used in exceptional circumstances.

“The Prison Service’s own instructions recognise the potentially damaging effect of segregation.

“I have previously raised concerns about the number of deaths of prisoners who were known by staff to be vulnerable and at risk of harming themselves, yet were still held in segregation conditions.”

Cases exposed by the ombudsman included that of a man diagnosed with depression who had previously overdosed and self-harmed and was found hanged in his cell after being denied a radio or a book to keep him occupied.

Judgement is expected next month on a Supreme Court case challenging the lawfulness and “fairness” of segregation.

Commenting on the figures, the Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Frances Crook said: “[This bulletin] illustrates perfectly why the Howard League provided expert evidence about segregation to the Supreme Court.”