Hashem Abedi, who helped plan the Manchester Arena bombing, has attacked three prison officers with boiling cooking oil at a high-security prison, according to the Prison Officers’ Association (POA).
The Prison Service confirmed that Abedi launched the unprovoked and violent attack on Saturday at HMP Frankland in County Durham. Reports indicate that he threw hot oil at the officers before stabbing them with improvised weapons.
The POA stated that the officers suffered life-threatening injuries, including burns, scalds and stab wounds. All three were taken to hospital for treatment, and one female officer was discharged later that day.
Abedi is serving a life sentence after being convicted in August 2020 for assisting his brother, Salman Abedi, in carrying out the 2017 Manchester Arena suicide bombing, which killed 22 people and injured hundreds more.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood expressed deep concern over the assault and confirmed that the police are investigating the incident. She stressed that violence against prison staff would not be tolerated and called for the harshest penalties against offenders.
The attack occurred inside a separation centre at HMP Frankland, a facility designed to isolate prisoners with extremist views. Separation centres house some of the most dangerous terrorist offenders who are considered unlikely to change their ideologies.
Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the POA, called for an urgent review of the privileges given to terrorist offenders. He highlighted that allowing access to cooking facilities and other potentially dangerous items poses unnecessary risks to prison staff.
Fairhurst argued that prisoners in separation centres should only receive basic entitlements, with the focus firmly placed on control and containment rather than rehabilitation efforts.
A spokesperson for the Prison Service confirmed that police investigations are ongoing and reaffirmed that violence against prison staff would not be tolerated. They added that the service would continue to push for the strongest possible punishments for attacks on prison workers.
