Transgender woman found dead in male prison

A 21-year-old transgender woman has been found dead in jail after previously threatening to take her own life if she was sent to a male prison.

Vicky Thompson was found unresponsive at Leeds Prison in Armley, West Yorkshire, on Friday night, the Prison Service said.

Friends of Ms Thompson said she had threatened she would kill herself if she was sent to a male prison.

A Prison Office spokesperson said the death was being investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

West Yorkshire Police said officers were called to reports of the death of a prisoner at the jail on Friday.

A force spokesperson said the death was classed as not suspicious and that the coroner had been informed.

Sparkle, a charity which supports trans rights and the positive representation of trans people, said it was "appalled" to hear of the death of Ms Thompson.

It said the housing of transgender women in male prisons was an "abhorrent practice" that needed to come to an end.

"There needs to be a discussion about the way we imprison those that identify as Trans and there needs to be an end to the practice of imprisoning Trans people in prisons that are categorised as other than their gender, " the charity said in a statement on its Facebook page.