Manchester Arena terrorist attacks three prison officers

From the Telegraph

One of the Islamist terrorists behind the Manchester Arena bombing has allegedly attacked three prison officers with weapons and cooking oil in a high-security jail.

Two officers suffered life threatening injuries after being attacked in HMP Frankland in Durham by Hashem Abedi on Saturday, in a case that will raise questions about security measures in Britain’s prisons. Abedi is serving life for 22 murders in the Manchester Arena bombing.

The officers suffered burns and stab wounds when Abedi threw hot cooking oil over them before using home made weapons to stab the guards, the Prison Officers Association union said.

One of the officers was said to have been stabbed in the face and throat and had to be airlifted for emergency surgery at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. A second officer is still being treated in hospital. The third, a female officer, was released after treatment.

Prison union sources suggested that Abedi may have stolen a weapon from a prison kitchen although there were unconfirmed reports that a knife may have been supplied via a drone.

It is understood that Abedi was being held in one of the separation units in Frankland, which are designed for prisoners who pose a risk to staff and other inmates.

Saturday’s attack comes amid reports of prison officers at Frankland placing vulnerable prisoners in separation units designed for high-risk inmates in order to keep them apart from Islamic extremists in an effort to maintain order and discipline.

Mark Fairhurst, the chairman of the POA, said: “This attack displays the dangers brave prison officers face on a daily basis. Separation centres hold the most dangerous terrorist offenders who simply do not wish to alter their ideology and, as this event confirms, are determined to inflict violence on those who hold them securely. We must now review the freedoms we allow separation centre prisoners to have. I am of the opinion that allowing access to cooking facilities and items that can threaten the lives of staff should be removed immediately. These prisoners need only receive their basic entitlements and we should concentrate on control and containment instead of attempting to appease them. Things have to change.”