Image source, PA Image caption,

Lorraine Barwell had worked at Serco for more than a decade

By Emily Pennink & Liz Jackson

PA News & BBC News

Security contractor Serco has been fined £2.25m for health and safety failings that led to a prisoner kicking one of its custody officers to death.

Lorraine Barwell, 54, was killed in the summer of 2015 by Humphrey Burke, now 28, a prisoner she was escorting.

The day she was attacked, Burke was due to be sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court for arson and attempted robbery.

In January, he was given an indefinite hospital order for manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

At the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker also ordered Serco to pay the Health and Safety Executive's costs of £433,596.

Sentencing the firm, he said: "I am satisfied that had it not been for Serco's breach of duty towards its employees, Lorraine Barwell would not have died in the circumstances in which she did."

'Wonderful, loving'

Serco is contracted by the Ministry of Justice to provide security services in courts. Ms Barwell, who had worked for the security firm for more than 10 years, is believed to be the first prison custody officer to be killed on duty, the Ministry of Justice said.