Death of Portsmouth man Daniel Varndell needs to spark urgent change, coroner and family declare

Daniel John Varndell, 30, was found dead in a property in Brownlow Close, Buckland, Portsmouth, on May 11, 2020 as a result of mixed drug intoxication, four days after his release from HMP Lewes in East Sussex.

Now a coroner and Daniel's mother, Paula Bramble, are calling for changes to safeguarding services to avoid another tragic death.

Daniel, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2008, had been sentenced to 18 months in prison after assaulting security officers at Gunwharf Quays in October 2018.

A meeting of more than 20 professionals decided that Daniel should be released if he had planned meetings with a mental health expert, but a probation officer later decided – without checking with anyone else – to remove this condition.

Now Hampshire coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp has called on the government to address this power – so lives can be saved in the future.

Writing in a review to prevent future deaths, the coroner said: ‘It may not have affected the outcome in the present sad case, (but) such unilateral removal of a licence condition could result in a future death.’

And Daniel’s mother wants her son’s death to spark changes across prison and mental health services.

According to Paula, the prison had applied for Daniel to be supported by a mental health hospital – but no support was secured.

The Waterlooville resident said: ‘For me, it comes down to (the fact that) our mental health services declined to help him. Even if he didn't want to, that's what sectioning is there for.

‘Since he was 16, we knew there was clearly mental health problems going on. For six years from aged 19 he was sectioned in mental health hospitals. He was all over the country in different hospitals.

‘In the last three years of his life, it was a matter of days between him being released and then being back in prison.

‘He felt safer in prison than outside. All of it was definitely attributable to his mental health. When he was well, he was loving and caring. He had a cheeky smile. He loved nothing more than getting a room laughing.'

Addressing the inquest process - which took more than two and a half years, she added: ‘I feel it was disgusting how late reports and statements were submitted. I didn’t feel I was being listened to.

‘I couldn't have got through it without support from the charity Inquest and the legal support they found me.’

But Paula is ‘grateful’ for changes undertaken at Dickson House, a facility for those returning from prison in Fareham, where Daniel lived after his release in May 2020.

The service has changed its alarm protocol so that staff call police as soon as possible, as a precaution in case the home’s alarm system is delayed or fails in calling emergency services, according to Paula.

Aimee Jones of Harding Evans solicitors, who represented the family, said: ‘Daniel was a very vulnerable man who required appropriate support following his release from prison.

‘The removal of a licence condition that would have required Daniel to engage with mental health services was wholly inappropriate, particularly given the extensive planning that had gone into Daniel’s safe release. We welcome the coroner’s report for the Prevention of Future Deaths and await the response.’