Jimmy Prout: 'Chances missed' to help man tortured and killed in North Shields

A man who was tortured and killed by people he thought were his friends was failed by authorities, a review has found.

Jimmy Prout was killed in 2016 after suffering a catalogue of abuse, violence, exploitation and torture.

A review has found there were “clear opportunities” when agencies could have spoken to him about the abuse.

Four people, who lived with Mr Prout in Percy Main, near North Shields, were jailed over his death in 2017.

Ringleader Zahid Zaman, 43, and Ann Corbett, 26, were convicted of his murder following a seven-week trial.

Both had previously admitted perverting the course of justice.

Myra Wood, 50, and Kay Rayworth, 56, were cleared of murder but were convicted of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult. They had previously admitted perverting the course of justice.

The trial had heard he had had his teeth knocked out and faced a catalogue of abuse and humiliation.

A domestic homicide review has now found there were a string of missed chances to help Mr Prout.

The review found he had been financially exploited and subjected to humiliation and degradation, including extreme physical abuse.

It concluded: “He was subjected to acts of humiliation and degradation which included sexual abuse and extreme physical abuse. He was financially exploited and deprived of his human rights and liberty.

“Although the abuse was happening in plain sight of the local community and in some cases, services, alerts were not raised.”

It added there were “multiple barriers” which prevented him from seeking support and said he was “highly controlled” and had been accompanied to GP visits and was the suspect of offences against another vulnerable person and was assessed through that lens.

Brother Eddie Prout, who has previously said his brother was failed said he wanted to know why no one had recognised he was vulnerable before his death.

Saying he did not think services thought people like he and his brother were “worth helping”, he added: “I don’t sleep, I have nightmares and I need answers - why did they do this to my brother? I know I won’t get the answers I need.”

The review found Mr Prout had several contacts with police and health services, including GP visits and attendances at A&E. On one occasion, in November 2019, he went to hospital with multiple injuries inflicted by a baseball bat and a knife.

On some occasions he was accompanied by his abusers. The report says it is “best practice” to speak to people alone wherever possible. However, in Mr Prout’s case this did not happen and he did not have the opportunity to speak to professionals on his own.

The review also uncovered a “systematic and persistent” pattern of his abusers controlling the systems in place to protect victims.

The report said opportunities were missed to see Mr Prout as a potential victim of abuse and signs that he was abused and exploited were missed.

It also concluded that services appeared to have been “blind sighted” by a “binary narrative” that sees people as wither victims or perpetrators.

It said he was not identified as a possible victim of abuse and exploitation but instead was viewed as a perpetrator of domestic abuse.

North Tyneside Council, Northumbria Police, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the Safer North Tyneside Partnership, all say lessons have been learned from Mr Prout's death and that they have already begun implementing the series of recommendations made in the report.

A statement on behalf of the Safer North Tyneside Partnership said: “This was an extremely complex and challenging case for all agencies involved, we hope this finalised report highlights the valuable lessons all agencies have learnt. We would like to make it clear, when our agencies can work together better, we will.

“All partners have acknowledged this report and are already well underway with implementing all recommendations highlighted in the action plan and executive summary.”

Paul Hanson, Chief Executive of North Tyneside Council welcomed the findings of the review. He said: “I accept that if services had communicated more frequently, through the right channels, a greater picture of Jimmy’s life could have been painted. This more complete picture might have provided us with a greater chance to protect Jimmy from the people who murdered him.”

Paula Shandran, associate director of professional standards and safeguarding at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said the report had given a “valuable insight” into learning which had been shared and improvements were being implemented, including making domestic abuse training mandatory.

Chief Superintendent Lyn Peart, Head of Northumbria Police’s Safeguarding Department, said agencies had learned lessons following Mr Prout’s death.

She added:  “Protecting those who are vulnerable is our number one priority and we will continue to work with our partners to keep our communities safe.”

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