Prison guard stabbed at high-security jail

Telegraph

2 days ago

A prison officer has been stabbed and seriously injured in an unprovoked attack by a prisoner at a high-security jail.
The prison officer was airlifted to hospital on Friday morning after being stabbed by an inmate in HMP Long Lartin, a category A prison near Evesham, Worcestershire. He was said to be in a 'stable' condition after emergency surgery.
There were unconfirmed reports that the knife used in the attack may have been delivered into the jail by a drone. Prison Service sources said this was based on the theory that it was a real knife rather than a makeshift one constructed from materials within the jail.
The attack will raise further concerns over the scale of violence in jails after a series of assaults over the past two months, including a knife attack by Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, on three officers at the high-security HMP Frankland jail in County Durham.
On Thursday, The Telegraph revealed that two prison officers at the high-security HMP Whitemoor jail in Cambridgeshire were taken to hospital after two separate attacks. It followed the killing of a convicted murderer by another inmate at the same prison last month.
Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, has ordered reviews into whether front-line prison officers should be equipped with stab vests to protect against knife attacks and tougher powers to segregate the most violent offenders in 'supermax-style' units. She has also ordered a trial of Tasers.
'Lucky to have survived'
According to The Sun, the prison officer at Long Lartin was stabbed in his body, with a blade from a flick-knife nicking his liver.
A source told the paper: 'The attack came out of the blue and was early in the morning after the prisoners were unlocked. The member of staff is lucky to have survived, particularly given where the blade struck him.
'It nicked his liver, so it could easily have been a lot worse. His colleagues raced to his aid, and luckily, police and ambulance crews got to the prison pretty quickly.
'Other members of staff are furious. They do not feel they are getting the protection they deserve, and they have been warning about drones for ages. It is a daily occurrence that they are dropping stuff off there, and it is extremely worrying that a flick-knife was delivered. If that can be dropped off, anything can.
'It is ridiculous, especially at what is meant to be a highly secure jail. Prisons are out of control – something needs to be done, and fast.'
'We will not tolerate assaults'
In a statement, West Mercia Police said officers had been called to HMP Long Lartin over an assault. 'One man was taken to hospital with serious injuries after sustaining a stab wound. The inmate remains within the prison and the investigation is ongoing,' the statement said.
A Prison Service spokesman said: 'We will not tolerate assaults on hard-working staff and will always push for the strongest punishments against perpetrators.'
Category A Long Lartin prison houses 900 highly dangerous inmates, including killers and terrorists. Inmates there include Suffolk strangler Steve Wright; Jordan McSweeney, who murdered Zara Aleena in 2022, and Vincent Tabak, Joanna Yeates's killer. It is understood the latest attack was not by a high-profile prisoner.
The latest assault comes just weeks after Abedi, who is serving life over the murder of 22 people in the Manchester Arena bomb, attacked three officers in a separation unit at HMP Frankland by throwing hot cooking oil over them and stabbing them with two makeshift knives fashioned from baking trays in the kitchen.
The Prison Officers' Association has called for all terrorists and violent prisoners who assault officers to be held in US-style 'supermax' units or separate jails where they are only allowed out of their cells one hour a day, handcuffed and supervised by three officers.