Manchester Arena terrorist charged with attempted murder after prison officers attacked in jail
Four prison officers were stabbed and scolded in a horror attack at maximum security HMP Frankland in Co Durham in April.
2
2
Abedi, 28, is also charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of unauthorised possession of a knife or offensive weapon .
Counter Terrorism Policing North East said it had carried out a "thorough investigation" of the incident with Durham Constabulary and HMP Frankland.
Abedi - who remains in prison - is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on September 18.
Abedi is serving at least 55 years' jail for helping suicide bomber brother Salman plan the 2017 attack at Manchester Arena which killed 22 and injured more than 1,000 at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
a few seconds ago
- Daily Mail
Shoplifters think they can rob shops with impunity, police chief warns
Some shoplifters 'feel they can rob shops with impunity', a policing chief has warned. Katy Bourne, the national lead for shoplifting at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said more robust police interventions and 'meaningful criminal justice measures' are needed to prevent reoffending. Shoplifting hit a record high in 2024, with the number of offences surpassing 500,000 for the first time, up 20 per cent from 2023. 'What on earth has happened to our high streets and our city centres?' Ms Bourne, the police and crime commissioner for Sussex, asked. 'Why do some people feel they can rob shops with impunity and abuse and assault staff without any fear of retribution?' She argued that there must be rehabilitation for some offenders as well as 'significant alternatives to our overcrowded prisons. Ms Bourne also announced Sussex will see 'the first electronic tagging scheme for persistent shoplifters'. The force will work with the courts on how to issue the tags and with industries to see how they can be monitored. Writing in The Telegraph on Saturday, the policing chief also criticised the 'purist application of data protection law' advising shopkeepers not to share images of suspected offenders. She said she is pleased that forces including Sussex Police will roll out live facial recognition cameras in specially-adapted police vans. It was reported that officers spoke to a shopkeeper in Wrexham after he posted a sign referring to 'scumbag shoplifters'. North Wales Police said it did not appear he had committed any offence. Ms Bourne said it appeared to be an example of 'warranted officers of the law policing the potential for hurt feelings'. She asked: 'How have we got to the point where police forces are more worried about upsetting career criminals than catching them?' Jon Cummins, Assistant Chief Constable from Avon and Somerset Police, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that wider societal issues including poverty, the cost-of-living crisis and addiction are contributing to the shoplifting spike. He said on Saturday: 'If they see somebody shoplifting, my advice to them is they must call us... not to intervene. 'We clearly want to be attending and will be attending reports'. Ms Bourne also cautioned against members of the public attempting to apprehend shoplifters. They may be armed and people 'run the risk' of committing assault, unlawful restraint or wrongful arrest. Earlier this week, supermarket chain Iceland said it would offer customers a £1 reward if they spot shoplifters in the act. The retailer's boss, Richard Walker, said any shoppers who point out offenders to members of staff will receive a payment to their membership card. It comes as the Government agreed that shoplifting should be called 'shop theft' to avoid downplaying its seriousness. In a letter to ministers, peers warned the 'outdated' word was 'trivialising the severity of the offence' and called for it to be phased out in legislation and guidance. The Government responded to commit to using 'shop theft' where appropriate, the Daily Telegraph reported. And the national police unit for organisations acquisitive crime, Opal, also said it would encourage the use of the term in its general communications. The letter from peers sent in November said: 'The use of the outdated term 'shoplifting' serves to trivialise the serious, organised nature of an increasing element of shop theft which is having a devastating effect on the retail sector. We recommend its use should be phased out.' In response, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: 'The Government will use the expression 'shop theft" where appropriate.' Shoplifting rates have almost doubled in two decades, with three thefts a minute recorded across England and Wales in the year to March. There were 530,643 reported to the police in this time, up 20 per cent on the previous year's 444,022. The problem is becoming increasingly rife in chemists, with an estimated increase of 88 per cent in the theft of drugs and medical supplies in the past 12 months. Sir Keir Starmer has made tackling shoplifting one of his top priorities since taking office, and pledged to spend an extra £200m on neighbourhood policing, as well as making assaulting a shop worker a more serious offence. The Prime Minister came under criticism this week, however, for failing to refer to shoplifters as 'scumbags.'
Daily Mail
a few seconds ago
- Daily Mail
Trans woman caught smuggling 26 kilos of cannabis into the UK to try and fund a sex change operation is jailed for 18 months in a men's prison
A trans woman who was caught smuggling 26kg of cannabis into the UK in order to fund a sex change operation has been sentenced to 18 months behind bars in a men's prison. Keira Borrett, 46, from Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, was discovered with two suitcases full of the Class B drug when stopped by Border Force officials at London Heathrow Airport on May 23. Borrett, who was born a male but identifies as a woman, had been returning to the UK from Bangkok in Thailand - where Isleworth Crown Court heard the smuggler made a deal to transport the drugs in exchange for £10,000 transitional surgery. Prosecutor Sahra Ali said police had been told how Borrett had bumped into a man from Essex in a Bangkok bar, where the conversation turned to how expensive said surgery had become. After being introduced to accomplices of the Essex man, Borrett received a drop-off by two men in an SUV which contained two 'very heavy' bags, which were then checked in as luggage under Borrett's name. Borrett was instructed to take these bags to a hotel once touching down in the UK and was informed a payment of £10,000 would be sent for doing so - in turn funding the surgery. However, Borrett's attempts were thwarted when the airport luggage check revealed that the two suitcases were stuffed with vacuum-sealed cannabis parcels which had a total value of around £800,000, prompting the smuggler's arrest. Borrett pleaded guilty to smuggling the Class B drug at an earlier hearing. Borrett, who was born a male but identifies as a woman, had been returning from Bangkok in Thailand - where the smuggler is said to have made a deal transport the drugs in exchange for £10,000 transitional surgery 'She was not under any duress, she did this willingly. There was an expectation of significant financial advance,' said Ms Ali, referring to Borrett by using female pronouns. Borrett appeared to be sentenced on a video link from male prison HMP Wormwood Scrubs, west London, where the defendant has spent three months on remand. Mitigating, Sebastian Cox said Borrett's placement in a men's prison had forced the smuggler to 'detransition' and urged the judge to suspend any prison sentence, saying 'every day in prison has been harder for her given her identity'. Mr Cox continued by saying Borrett taking the suitcases was a 'lack of judgement' but that it was an 'isolated incident' and one not in line with the defendant's character. 'The offer of money and knowing what it could have done for her life. She made a very silly decision,' he added. 'She is remorseful in the extreme knowing the impact this has had on her family and friends.' The court was told that Borrett's trip to Thailand was the second in a matter of months, with recorder Kate Aubrey-Johnson saying this brought the defendant's claims that smuggling the drugs was an 'impulsive decision' into question. Jailing Borrett for 18 months, Ms Johnson said: 'Although you say it was an impulsive decision, the fact that you had travelled to Thailand before makes me wonder how much credibility I can give to that.' Ms Johnson also said that Borrett's claims to not knowing what was in the suitcases, stretched credulity. 'You didn't ask the question but you must have known they contained something,' she added. Deciding not to suspend the prison sentence, Ms Johnson said she had taken into account the 'additional issues' faced while on remand as a result of the Home Office decision that it must be served in a male prison. 'You have strong mitigation,' she told Borrett, but added that courts had a duty to send a 'strong deterrent' message to those who might get involved in smuggling. 'This is an offence that is prevalent,' she added. 'We know that criminals target individuals to act as couriers. As cannabis has been made legal in other parts of the world, it means these criminal operations are now increasingly looking to bring drugs into the UK.' Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis in 2022, leading to with a dramatic increase in the drug smuggled into the UK by both post and air passengers. Alex Murray, the National Crime Agency's director of threat leadership, said: 'We have been working well with the Thai authorities who are keen to intervene. 'Couriers should think very carefully about agreeing to smuggle cannabis. There are life-changing consequences.
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
British Transport Police cuts will endanger railway staff, union warns
The biggest rail workers' union is warning of cuts to the British Transport Police (BTP), saying they would 'seriously endanger' the safety of railway staff. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said the BTP was facing an £8.5 million funding shortfall this year which it warned could result in the closure of 13 police stations and the loss of hundreds of posts. The union said cuts would leave frontline rail staff exposed to rising levels of violence, harassment and anti-social behaviour. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: 'These cuts will severely impact the safety of rail workers and the travelling public. 'Station staff and train crews are being left to deal with violent and abusive passengers without adequate BTP support, often late at night, in isolated locations, and with no back-up. 'BTP's own figures show a sharp rise in crime across the network yet the response is to slash officer numbers, close stations and disband the very unit that dealt with workplace violence. It is both outrageous and dangerous.' RMT has launched a campaign to demand better protection for rail workers and safer travelling for passengers.
