An independent review will be held into the death of a 46-year-old man who was a serving prisoner at Whitemoor prison, in March.  

Jason Thaxter died on August 15 and an inquest into his death was opened on Thursday at Peterborough Town Hall.  

At the brief hearing, David Heming, the senior coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, explained the death occurred in Longhill Road, March.  

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice later confirmed Mr Thaxter was a prisoner at Whitemoor – but was unable to provide further details of his convictions.  

A date for a pre-inquest review hearing was provisionally set for May 14 next year to allow the Prison and Probation Ombudsman to carry out an investigation.  

Mr Heming said: “[This] should hopefully be sufficient time for the usual investigation to be conducted by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman who always independently review deaths in custody.” 

Whitemoor is a men’s maximum security prison which houses around 500 prisoners.  

In July, it was one of nine prisons categorised a “serious concern” in figures released by the Ministry of Justice.