High-security prison officer stabbed by inmate after 'argument'
A prison officer had to be airlifted to hospital after being stabbed by an inmate.
The 25-year-old suffered serious injuries during the stabbing at around 10am on Friday at HMP Long Lartin.
He is still in hospital.
West Mercia Police were called and they say the suspect, a 22-year-old, is still in custody within the prison.
The force has denied an audio recording circulating on social media, claiming to be of the aftermath of the incident, is in fact not connected.
They have recovered a weapon as part of the investigation, and it is understood the weapon was smuggled into the prison.
Assistant Chief Constable Grant Wills said: 'Whilst our investigation is in its early stages, we would like to clarify that this incident is not being treated as terrorism.
'Our initial enquiries suggest there was a disagreement between an inmate and prison officer that escalated and is an isolated matter within the prison.
'The injured prison officer currently remains in hospital in a stable condition, and we are sending him our best wishes for a full and quick recovery.'
HMP Long Lartin, in South Littleton, Worcestershire, is both a category A and B prison and can hold more than 600 inmates.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: 'Police are investigating an attack on a prison officer at HMP Long Lartin.
'We will not tolerate assaults on hardworking staff and will always push for the strongest punishments against perpetrators.'
The news comes as the chair of the Prison Officers' Association warned it is 'only a matter of time' before a prison officer is murdered by an inmate. More Trending
His warning is echoed by a former prison officer at HMP Frankland, who revealed exclusively to Metro that he had boiling urine thrown over him during his time there.
New data shows the number of assaults on prison staff in England and Wales per year has reached its highest level in a decade.
Recent high-profile attacks include Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, who reporeredly injured three HMP Frankland officers by throwing hot cooking oil over them and using 'home made weapons' last month.
And earlier this month, Southport killer Axel Rudakubana is accused of throwing boiling water over an officer at HMP Belmarsh.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Peru Two drug mule warns Britons of 'hellish conditions' inside prison
MORE: Multiple people seriously injured after car crashes into pedestrians in Leicester
MORE: Man arrested after police officer injured when 'car reversed into him'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Veronica Bird: The Harrogate woman famed for transforming prisons
One of the first female governors of a men's prison in the UK, Veronica Bird, has spoken about her experiences as part of a year-long celebration of "remarkable" her 35-year career in the prison service, Ms Bird was governor of Armley Prison in Leeds as well as New Hall in she is speaking as part of Women Winning, a project that celebrates women in in Barnsley, Ms Bird joined the prison service in 1968 at Holloway Prison in London where she met violent prisoners such as Myra has now retired for a quieter life in Harrogate."Armley Prison was a huge shock to the system," she says."Being one of the first females in the prison, the transition, not just with staff, but with the prisoners as well."When women started to work in male prisons, it made a huge difference. The men were respectful. They stopped using bad language when the female prison officers were present. It calmed them down."It reduced the assaults and fights but, slowly over the past 25 years, it's just gone down and down and they don't care about who's in charge, who's looking after them and that's sad." Ms Bird says the worsening conditions in prisons are largely due to the influx of drugs."People often say why can't you stop drugs coming into the prison? Well, they swallow them wrapped in cling film, wrapped in condoms. They secrete them internally," she says."We used to have books coming into the prison and the men would put the powder between the pages and lick them. They would throw oranges over the prison fence."We had to stop selling Polo mints in prison and we had to stop selling bananas because they would dry the skin and mix it with the cannabis to make it go further."It's sad to see parents bringing drugs in for their children in prison. So it is a huge, huge battle."Ms Bird says she was disappointed to see a number of recent cases of prison officers having relationships with inmates and taking drugs into institutions."Sadly, the conduct of some staff taking contraband into prisons has grown. The relationships with prisoners. That's taken off enormously."Myra Hindley had an affair with officer Patricia Cairns and plotted her escape. So it's not something new but it is increasing all the time."When I was at Styal Prison, a female prisoner sentenced to life made a complaint that she was being abused by a prison officer in the cleaning cupboard."I was given the job of investigating and there were sacks full of beautiful underwear, nighties and goodness knows what that this male officer had taken in for her and other prisoners."But fortunately, the investigation came to a very quick end because he did the right thing and resigned there and then."The prisoner didn't complain to the police because she had no trust in the police. And she told the area manager the only person that she would trust to do a fair investigation was me." During her time running prisons, Ms Bird became recognised for transforming failing was asked to work on what was known as Grisley Risley in Warrington and Brockhill Prison in the Midlands, which she said was the UK's worst prison at the time."I was given the most difficult prison, the worst prison in the country," she says."I had no more money than the previous governor, no more staff. But I got the staff together and they changed that prison within one year. It was amazing."The conditions in 1995 in that women's prison were worse than when I joined in 1968."The poor staff were having to have their lunch in a prison cell. If you don't treat staff with respect, how are you going to get them to treat prisoners with respect?"Nobody wants to work in a terrible prison. It's not good for them. So everybody rallied round," she Bird has high praise for the work of Lord Timpson, Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, who employs ex-prisoners to work in Timpson shops. "He's on the right track. Give people a second chance," she says."How lucky I was to be given a chance in the prison service. Two years I thought I'd be there. But, 35 years later, I was still there and continued in retirement working in jobs to do with prison." During her time in the service, Ms Bird watched over members of the IRA such as Old Bailey bombers the Price Sisters, Rose Dugdale, and the Birmingham Six – who were later "gave her life" to prisons, she says, never having had a family or partner of her own."Leaving Brockhill, the staff said to me: 'Governor, please can we give some advice - don't give your life to the next prison, like you have given to this prison.' And yes, I suppose I gave my life to prisons and prisoners," she says."But I couldn't have coped with marriage, family, so I have given my whole life."Ms Bird was awarded an OBE in 2000 and turned her life story into a book, co-written with Richard Newman, called Veronica's Bird, which was published in she tours the UK, giving talks to prison and police officers as well as members of the Mee, co-founder of Women Winning, said it had been a delight to meet Ms Bird through the Harrogate said: "There's lots of amazing and inspirational women living in Harrogate. Veronica did a talk last evening to 70 people and you could have heard a pin drop. We laughed, cried and everything in between." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Telegraph
14 hours ago
- Telegraph
Dangerous Islamist terrorists should be imprisoned on military base, says report
Dangerous Islamist terrorists should be detained in a specially created high-security unit within a military base, a report by one of Britain's leading experts on extremism has recommended. Prof Ian Acheson, a former prison governor who has advised the Government on extremism in prisons, has recommended that the risk to prison officers from violent ideologically driven terrorists was so 'lethal and proximate' that a new centre outside the prison estate was needed. He said such a centre could not be located in high-security prisons because they were 'exposed to and unable to overcome' the threat from weapons and other contraband being brought in by drones. 'My recommendation is that this centre is purpose-built and located inside the military estate, where physical and human security is commensurate to the risks posed,' he said in his report, commissioned by the Tories. 'It should be entirely separate from the main prison estate and its ethos must be focused on the protection of national security and eliminating the physical threat to staff.' Series of attacks on prison staff His proposal follows an attack by Hashem Abedi, the Manchester Arena bomb plotter, on three officers in the high-security Frankland jail in County Durham last month. Abedi, who is serving a life sentence, threw hot cooking oil over the officers and stabbed them with two makeshift knives he had fashioned from baking trays in the kitchen. It also comes days after a prison officer at HMP Long Lartin was seriously injured when he was stabbed in an unprovoked attack by a violent inmate with a knife believed to have been flown into the high-security jail by drone. The most influential and dangerous Islamist terrorists are currently held in separation units, of which there are three in prisons in England and Wales. The 'prisons within prisons' are designed to prevent them from radicalising other inmates and allow for closer supervision. Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, has ordered a review of separation centres, which could see them expanded, and has also suspended prisoners' use of kitchen facilities within them after the Abedi attack. Ms Mahmood has commissioned a review into issuing prison officers with stab vests and trialling Tasers in jails. Threat from violent extremists 'intolerable' In his report, seen by The Telegraph, Prof Acheson said: 'The current threat to front line prison staff posed by violent extremists and extremist adjacent offenders is intolerable and must be tackled urgently. 'The proximity of a murder of a prison officer on duty is closer and the consequence for rehabilitation, stability and the rule of law inside prisons is closer and more severe than at any time in the last 10 years. 'HM Prison and Probation Service does not have the capacity or capability or frequently the will to manage highly violent and ideologically motivated offenders using present approaches or structures.' Prof Acheson said each prison holding terrorist prisoners should have a team of specialist armed officers on site ready to respond to any incident. 'They must be capable of being deployed at all times when prisoners are unlocked. This includes Taser, stun grenades, attenuated energy baton rounds and 'method of entry' equipment to breach doors and barricades,' he said. He said these weapons were the 'baseline' but that 'serious consideration' must be given to constructing armouries at such prisons where guns could be stored and used as a last resort because police support could not be guaranteed in time 'where seconds can mean the difference between life and death'. He said all prison officers should be issued with stab, slash and spike-resistant vests. 'There must be no delay in emergency procurement of this PPE to all staff working in the high security and long-term [prisoner] estate,' he said. 'The prospect of serious harm, not to mention litigation and recruitment/retention impact is not just imminent, it is already happening. There is simply no reason for further dithering on this vital and obvious improvement. 'Ministers must take personal charge of this objective backed by independent oversight by professionals who have demonstrated a track record in delivery under pressure. Stab vests have been 'under consideration' for officers revealed in a ministerial answer in 2013. The Director of Public Sector Prisons then is the same person who is now the interim chief executive.'
Metro
a day ago
- Metro
Why so many young Brits are being 'manipulated' into smuggling drugs
Awaiting an uncertain fate in a prison 2,000 miles from home, Bella May Culley is far from the only young British traveller caught up in a murky web of organised crime. The 18-year-old is among a spate of high-profile cases where young backpackers have found themselves facing decades in jail accused of being drug mules. Experts say the Far East has become a 'Chamber of Commerce for organised crime' as underworld syndicates try to cash in on a boom in legally-grown cannabis. Bella, from Billingham on Teesside, went missing in Thailand three weeks ago, with her dad Niel flying out to search for her before it emerged she had been arrested at Tbilisi Airport in Georgia. The aspiring nurse, who is said to be pregnant, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years or life imprisonment in the post-Soviet country if she is convicted over a cannabis haul worth £200,000. Her case was followed by that of Charlotte May Lee, 21, who is currently in prison in Sri Lanka, also accused of trying to run the drug out of Thailand. The former cabin crew worker, from Coulsdon, south London is accused of attempting to smuggle 101lb (46kg) of synthetic kush worth £1.2 million in two suitcases. Speaking from Negomobo Prison, a notorious jail north of Colombo, she has protested her innocence, saying she had 'no idea' that the substance was in her luggage. The pair's cases are one of many that have cropped up in recent weeks. On Tuesday, a British couple were arrested in Spain after 32kg of cannabis was discovered in two that day, an electrician from Cumbria narrowly escaped a death sentence in Bali after initial drug trafficking charges against him were dropped, and instead replaced with hiding information from the authorities. On Wednesday, a British pensioner was arrested in Chile after allegedly attempting to smuggle five kilos of methamphetamine. With at least four cases relating to Britons being accused of smuggling drugs in the past week, it begs the question: why is this happening? Dr James Windle, of the Department of Sociology and Criminology, University College Cork, gave an insight into the ruthless tactics used by the traffickers to recruit mules. 'Every trafficking organisation is different, and the larger, more sophisticated groups are very good at identifying people who might be open to exploitation,' he told Metro. 'Sometimes they have recruiters who do it as their specific job. 'At first it might be consensual, with the person targeted being offered something they value, be it money, a holiday or something connected to an addiction. 'At some point in the process there will be a subtle hint that there's the potential for violence if they don't go ahead with it. 'There will very often be a grooming process where they might say a person has to go somewhere to pay for their holiday, with the flights paid for. If they try and back out then they might say, here's a photograph of someone you love or even something as subtle as, 'you know we're very dangerous — only joking.' 'Sometimes it takes the mules months, even years, to realise how they have been manipulated.' In the UK, cannabis seizures at airports amounted to 27 tonnes last year — five times higher than in 2023. The drugs were found on 750 smugglers, up from 134 the previous year, according to National Crime Agency (NCA) figures. Traffickers making 'significant profits' by smuggling 'perceived high-quality cannabis' grown legally in the USA, Canada and Thailand have been identified by the NCA as being behind the rise. In some of the seizures, UK Border Force officers found electronic trackers with the drugs, thought to have been planted at source by the crime gangs to follow their illicit loads. Increased inspections of postal shipments may have led Thai crime gangs in particular to use Instagram-generation backpackers. Nathan Paul Southern, director of operations at The EyeWitness Project, which specialises in the investigation of organised crime, conflict and corruption, said: 'Thailand's recent legalisation of cannabis has opened the door to more opportunistic smuggling efforts, with some groups now turning to individual mules to move cannabis across borders. 'However, this trend should not be mistaken for a major shift in drug trafficking strategy. 'A new bilateral agreement between the UK and Thailand to curb drug smuggling — including increased inspections of postal shipments from Thailand — may have prompted some traffickers to experiment with alternative methods, including using couriers or mules.' However, the investigative journalist does not see any fundamental change in how the region's drug syndicates operate. 'Transporting cannabis by air — especially in quantities large enough to generate profit — is costly, risky and logistically difficult,' he said. 'While some traffickers may try to exploit the fact that cannabis can be bought legally in Thailand and then smuggled into countries like the UK, this is a very different operation from the large-scale, coordinated trafficking of methamphetamine or heroin originating from the war-torn jungles of Myanmar. 'The vast majority of Southeast Asia's drug exports still rely on maritime routes and are dominated by meth and heroin from the Golden Triangle —the epicentre of the world's largest narcotics trade and the source of a massive human trafficking and cyber scam crisis. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'Using young, easily manipulated people to move cannabis may be one of several minor tactics in play, but it is unlikely to represent a dramatic change in trafficking methods. 'Instead, it reflects how organised crime groups are constantly testing new ways to monetise legal ambiguities and exploit the vulnerable. 'The region is becoming a bit of a Chamber of Commerce for international organised crime syndicates. 'Some of these are involved in well organised bulk trafficking operations and others in more opportunistic smuggling.' Young British women posting Instagram pictures of their travels are not the only ones finding themselves caught in this nexus which spreads far beyond Thailand. Brown-Frater Chyna Jada, 23, was arrested on May 18 over an alleged 18kg of cannabis in her luggage as she went to board a British Airways flight from Ghana to Gatwick. It is alleged she had 32 slabs of the drug in her bag, with a street value of around £170,000. Fellow Brit Owusu Williams Christian, 19, was also arrested at the same airport for drug smuggling offences. He was on his way to Dubai when 92 slabs of drugs weighing just under 54kg were allegedly found in his bag. Authorities have not confirmed if the two cases are connected. Bella May Culley arrested in Georgia for allegedly smuggling 14kg of cannabis from Thailand after flying in on May 10 Charlotte May Lee arrested in Colombo two days later after police found 46 kilos of kush synthetic cannabis in her luggage Browne-Frater Chyna Ja arrested on May 18 in Ghana accused of attempting to bring up to 18kg of cannabis into UK Owusu Williams Christian arrested at same airport en-route to Dubai, allegedly with 92 slabs of drugs weighing 54kg in his bags Unnamed couple detained in Spain on May 5 after 32kg of cannabis was discovered in two suitcases Unnamed pensioner, 79, arrested in Chile after allegedly attempting to smuggle five kilos of methamphetamine Dr Jennifer Fleetwood, senior lecturer in criminology at City St George's, University of London, has spoken to drug mules for her research. The prize-winning author on drugs smuggling has found that while young British women make the headlines, the reality is more complicated. 'There are different motivations for the mules and they are men and women of different ages,' she said. 'While there have been lots of social media images of suspected women drug mules in beachwear dominating the headlines, men are just as likely to be involved, but their cases are less likely to be reported on in the media. 'In one case I met a man who was a pensioner living on benefits for many years and he just wanted some excitement, a free trip and a chance to have some money. 'Another myth is that the mules are chasing an Instagram lifestyle promised to them by the traffickers. 'The reality is more mundane, with the rising financial crisis having a big impact on young people.' Those recruited by the traffickers are the drug trade's equivalent of 'sweatshop workers' who are left facing the harsh repercussions, Dr Fleetwood told Metro. 'As long as people have researched drug trafficking there have been young, backpacker-types used as mules,' she said. 'The typical image of the traffickers is of criminal masterminds who force them to carry the drugs. 'In my experience, it's more likely to be a friend's boyfriend, a work contact or even another member of a church who is looking for someone with a passport that allows them to travel quite widely. 'The mules may be in a precarious financial position already, working in low-paid jobs, maybe in the illegal economy. More Trending 'But they find themselves becoming the drug trade's equivalent of sweatshop workers, taking on the biggest risks with the worst conditions.' Just weeks before the arrests in May, the NCA warned that targeting couriers 'is crucial to breaking the supply chain' and warned anyone tempted to smuggle drugs that the risk of being caught 'is very high, and simply isn't worth it.' The backdrop to the latest cases suggests the traffickers will keep trying to find ways through, no matter who gets caught in the crossfire. Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact MORE: Police make stark warning over British 'drugs mule' found with record cannabis haul MORE: Drug 'containing ground-up human bones' at centre of 'mule' Charlotte May Lee case MORE: British woman 'found with huge haul of cannabis ahead of flight to Gatwick Airport'
