A PRISONS watchdog has found that more should have been done to protect Shakespeare book thief Raymond Scott, who took his own life in his cell.

A Prisons and Probation Service Ombudsman investigation into the death of Scott found weaknesses in mental health care at HMP Acklington – now HMP Northumberland.

The 55-year-old, from Wingate, near Peterlee, County Durham, was jailed in 2010 for eight years for handling stolen goods – a rare edition of Shakespeare’s First Folio from Durham University.

He killed himself, two weeks after being taken off suicide watch, in March 2012.

According to a report published by the watchdog, an inmate told officers at the jail that Scott had spoken of his intentions to commit suicide the day before he was found dead in his cell, but no record of the inmate’s concerns could be found.

Prisons and Probation ombudsman Nigel Newcomen has made several recommendations to improve mental health care at the jail and urged prison staff to adopt a multi-disciplined approach.

Video: The eccentric Raymond Scott appears at court in 2009

He said: “The investigation has identified a number of deficiencies in the operation of the suicide and self-harm monitoring.

“Reviews of the man’s risk did not sufficiently involve all the relevant people responsible for his care and it is of concern that a decision was made, by one member of staff alone, to stop monitoring him, without clear evidence that he was no longer at risk.

“There was no follow-up of this decision as there should have been.

“There were also weaknesses in the treatment provided for his depression, including an inconsistent approach by a number of different doctors about the prescription of anti-depressant medication.”

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We are committed to reducing the numbers of self-inflicted deaths in custody and will consider the findings of the inquest and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s investigation to see what lessons can be learned.

“We have a high proportion of people with mental health issues in the prison population and, as is the case in society, the reasons behind any suicide are complex and individual.”