The separation unit at HMP Frankland, which housed convicted Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi, has been entirely emptied after Abedi launched a violent attack on prison officers.
According to BBC sources, all seven inmates – including notorious extremist preacher Anjem Choudary – have now been relocated while counter-terrorism officers conduct a full investigation.
Abedi assaulted three prison guards on Saturday, reportedly dousing them with boiling oil and stabbing them with improvised weapons.
He has since been transferred to the high-security Belmarsh Prison in London. The remaining inmates have been moved to HMP Woodhill.
The Frankland unit, which housed inmates considered dangerous and ideologically extreme, is now being treated as a crime scene. Detectives are examining whether any fellow inmates were aware of Abedi’s plan or assisted him in carrying it out.
While the incident has yet to be formally designated a terrorist act, such a classification would enable prosecutors to pursue charges against others who may have failed to report the planned attack.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed that a full and independent inquiry will be launched, following widespread outrage from victims and families of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.
Survivors have condemned the apparent leniency of Abedi’s prison conditions.
Martin Hibbert, who was paralysed in the Arena attack and whose daughter Eve was left severely disabled, expressed his anger in an open letter to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
He wrote: “This is a catastrophic failure of your duty to protect staff and the public from an unrepentant terrorist.”
He continued: “Abedi was granted access to kitchen facilities and allowed to roam freely, enabling him to launch a brutal attack with boiling oil and handmade weapons. Where is the justice? Where is the accountability?”
Abedi was previously moved to Frankland following an earlier attack on officers in Belmarsh in 2020, which led to an additional prison sentence.
He was convicted in 2020 for his role in the bombing that killed 22 people and injured hundreds at an Ariana Grande concert, receiving a record 55-year minimum life term.
Two of the three officers injured in Saturday’s assault remain in hospital with serious injuries. The attack has reignited calls for stricter controls over high-risk inmates and improved staff protections within UK prisons.
Responding to the incident, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said it was “clear that something went terribly wrong.”
The MoJ has since suspended kitchen access in all separation and close supervision centres across the prison estate.
Prisons Minister Lord James Timpson added that the full scope and terms of the independent review will be announced shortly.
In a statement, he assured the public: “This government will do everything it can to protect those working in our prisons.”
