A North East paedophile who repeatedly raped his daughter from the age of 13 died from throat cancer in prison last year, a Prisons and Probation Ombudsman's report has revealed.

Michael Warrener, formerly of Twickenham Road in Sunderland was sentenced in Newcastle Crown Court to 19 years in prison in 2012 after his daughter, Claire Warrener disclosed in 2010 that she was repeatedly raped by her father.

Claire was in her 20s and tragically took her own life just months after she reported the abuse. Mr Warrener, who was 59 at the time of the trial, was found guilty by a jury on the charges which included rape and indecent assault on two other child victims.

Mr Warrener then served seven years at HMP Durham but was then moved to HMP Holme House in Stockton back in the summer of 2019.

Now, a report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has revealed that on June 26 of last year, Mr Warrener died of recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx (throat cancer) aged 70. 

The report revealed that in 1997 Mr Warrener was diagnosed with cancer in his tonsils which was treated with surgery.

19 years later in 2016, he was diagnosed with throat cancer which was again treated with surgery and radiotherapy and he had a permanent tracheostomy (an opening in the front of the neck so a tube can be inserted into the windpipe to help him breathe).

By the time Mr Warrener arrived at HMP Holme House in 2019, it is noted that he could not speak and communicated by writing.

The nurse referred Mr Warrener for speech and language therapy, for a swallowing and communication assessment, the longterm conditions pathway and for a palliative care nurse to offer on-going support for his various health conditions.

In October 2021, Mr Warrener was diagnosed with Barrett’s oesophagus, a hiatus hernia and oesophagitis and was monitored by healthcare staff.

On March 21 2023, a GP at the prison saw Mr Warrener where he told the GP that he had not been able to swallow for the last few days.

That day, Mr Warrener was sent to hospital and admitted as an inpatient. He had a CT scan of his neck and the results showed that the cancer had returned and was pressing on the major blood vessels in his neck. A biopsy conducted on March 27 confirmed the diagnosis.

Mr Warrener returned to prison in mid April, and three days before he died on June 23 Mr Warrener was "unsettled" according to a nurse.

At 3:00pm on June 26, a GP at Holme House was asked to see Mr Warrener because his health was deteriorating. The GP noted that Mr Warrener was agitated and breathing quickly.

By 6:35pm, it was confirmed that Mr Warrener had died.

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At an inquest held on the January 24, the Coroner concluded that Mr Warrener died of cancer of the larynx.

The report concluded that the clinical care Mr Warrener received at HMP Holme House was equivalent to what he could have expected to receive in the community.

No non-clinical issues of concern were found.