Latest news with #PrisonOfficers'Association
Metro
3 days ago
- Metro
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@ 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'
Metro
3 days ago
- Metro
UK prison chief calls for US-style 'supermax jails' to protect guards
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video It is only a matter of time before a prison officer is murdered by an inmate, the chairman of the Prison Officers' Association (POA) has warned. A prison officer was airlifted to hospital yesterday after being stabbed while on duty at the high security HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire. That attack came days after three prison officers were targeted – including one with boiling water and another left with a bleed on the brain – in 48 hours at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire. The number of assaults on staff in adult prisons in England and Wales per year has reached its highest level in a decade, new data shows. The figures come after several incidents in prisons have raised concerns over staff safety and the standard of protective equipment at work. Four officers were attacked with hot oil and homemade weapons by Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi at HMP Frankland in County Durham on April 12. Mark Fairhurst, chairman of the POA, has now called for those inmates posing the most risk to his staff to be 'totally locked down'. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he said jails are 'awash' with 'all kinds of illicit items' – including drugs, phones and weapons – but 'we very rarely lock them down'. Mr Fairhurst said 'now is the time to introduce supermax facilities' like those in the US, 'so people who pose the most risk to staff are totally locked down'. 'It is only a matter of time before one of my colleagues is murdered on duty,' he added. Some 10,605 assaults on staff in male and female jails were recorded in 2024, up from 9,204 in 2023 and nearly three times the 3,640 in 2014. The rate of assaults on staff stood at 122 per 1,000 prisoners last year, up from 108 in 2023 and 43 a decade earlier. Mr Fairhurst linked the violence inside prisons to the amount of contraband being smuggled in from the outside using drones. 'We need to secure the airspace above our prisons,' he said. 'Why are our airspaces not tightened? Why do we have ingress of drones in our prisons? Surely there must be technology out there that prevents drones entering airspaces.' More Trending Metro has contacted the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) for comment. A spokesperson told the BBC that attacks on prison staff are 'unacceptable' and will not be tolerated. They said the MoJ was 'gripping the situation by investing in prison maintenance and security, working with the police and others to tackle serious organised crime'. A spokesman said earlier this month they are 'also bolstering security to stop more contraband entering jails'. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ 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 MORE: Man arrested after police officer injured when 'car reversed into him'
Spectator
21-05-2025
- Spectator
Can anything solve Britain's prisons crisis?
While we were inspecting HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey, a commotion broke out on one of the wings. 'What's up?' one of my team asked the nearest prison officer. 'Bloke who's getting out tomorrow has just been told he's being shipped to Rochester jail.' The man was manhandled towards a prison van. 'If I was him, I'd kick off too,' the officer added quietly. That week things were so desperate in the south of England that the prisoner was being forced to spend one night in a jail 20 miles away so that new arrivals could be squeezed in that afternoon. Jails were 99 per cent full and governors were under instructions to make every possible place available. This is the context in which the former justice secretary David Gauke publishes his report on sentencing this week. Ministers hope he will find a way to reduce the prison population from current historic highs. That would give the most overcrowded jails, such as Elmley, Leeds and Bristol, breathing space to deal with the other problems they face. Recently published statistics showed a 13 per cent increase in assaults on staff and seven murders in the past year. Self-harm among prisoners has reached a new high – particularly in women's prisons. Ever-increasing levels of violence and recent high-profile assaults by notable prisoners at Frankland and Belmarsh have led ministers to announce that some prison officers will soon be issued with Tasers. In the three public-sector young offender institutions, consistently the most violent prisons in the country, the use of pepper spray on children has been authorised. The government has also commissioned a review into the use of body armour following pressure from the Prison Officers' Association. At HM Inspectorate of Prisons, we continue to report that many prisoners are locked in their cells for up to 22 hours a day.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Supermax' prisons could house Britain's worst criminals
Britain's most dangerous prisoners face a US-style 'supermax' prison regime after a string of violent attacks on officers. Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, has ordered a review into ways of segregating dangerous offenders including Islamist terrorists after an armed attack last month on three officers by the Manchester Arena bomber's brother in HMP Frankland, County Durham. She has asked Jonathan Hall, KC, the head of the review, to look at the 'human consequences' of segregating prisoners in such a way that it reduces the risk of violence to 'near zero'. The three options include creating a 'bespoke' regime such as that found at ADX Florence in Colorado, which holds prisoners who are so great a risk that they cannot be housed even in maximum security prisons. The inmates are confined in single cells with facilities made of poured, reinforced concrete to deter self-harm. And they are under 24-hour supervision, carried out intensively with high staff–inmate ratios. The move follows calls by the Prison Officers' Association (POA) for supermax jails in the UK. The jails could see offenders allowed out of their cells only while handcuffed to three officers, and provided with a basic food and exercise regime. Last month Hashem Abedi, 28, who is serving life for 22 murders in the Manchester Arena bomb, attacked three prison officers with two makeshift knives and boiling cooking oil in a special separation unit for Islamist extremists in HMP Frankland. Two suffered life-threatening injuries. At the weekend, Southport killer Axel Rudakubana allegedly used a kettle to pour boiling water over an officer at HMP Belmarsh in south London where he is currently being held. This week, The Telegraph revealed a prison officer was slashed across his neck by an inmate wielding an improvised knife at HMP Woodhill, in Milton Keynes, which houses one of three separation units for extremist or dangerous prisoners. Ms Mahmood has already ordered a rapid review into whether prison officers should be issued with stab vests to protect them, and a trial to train and equip selected jail staff with Tasers. Access to kitchen facilities in separation centres was suspended after Abedi's attack. The review by Mr Hall, who is the independent reviewer of terror legislation for the Government, will consider whether the current system of three separation centres is effective, or whether there are additional risks of physical attack or reinforcing extremist beliefs from segregating them in that way. It reads: 'Are there additional risks of harm associated with the type of prisoner likely to be held in a separation centre, for example, one subject to a long or indeterminate sentence with nothing to lose; or one who may seek to continue a terrorism career within prison.' Mr Hall will also consider whether there should be greater use of segregation cells within a separation centre or greater use of close supervision centres. Announcing Mr Hall's appointment, Ms Mahmood said: 'Alongside considering the facts of the incident, the review will look into the operation of Separation Centres and whether they are fit for purpose. 'I have asked for the review to report back promptly, and to leave no stone unturned so we can prevent such an incident ever happening again.' Steve Gillan, POA general secretary, said: 'Escalating levels of violence are out of control in the prison service in England and Wales. It appears that [the Prison Service] have learned nothing. They continue to ignore the calls from our members on the front line for urgent action to protect Prison Officers from violence. 'It is clear that prison regimes must be reviewed as a matter of urgency. We need action to protect Prison Officers before there is a fatality.' 'My thoughts are with the Prison Officers who have been injured, the POA will offer them our full support.' Some 10,605 assaults on staff in male and female jails were recorded in 2024, up from 9,204 in 2023 and nearly three times the 3,640 in 2014. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
ITV News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Government appoints Jonathan Hall KC to lead Hasham Abedi prison attack review
The Government has appointed Jonathan Hall KC to lead a review into how Manchester Arena plotter Hashem Abedi was able to carry out a violent attack on four prison officers. Mr Hall, who is the current Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, will chair the inquiry into the incident at HMP Frankland in April. Abedi targeted staff with boiling oil and homemade weapons in a planned ambush. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the review would examine the operation of separation centres – units designed to manage the most dangerous extremist prisoners – and whether they are fit for purpose. 'I will do whatever it takes to protect our brave prison officers,' she said in a statement on Thursday. "I have asked for the review to report back promptly, and to leave no stone unturned so we can prevent such an incident ever happening again.' The review will consider whether the internal findings from the Abedi incident point to a need for changes in how extremist offenders are placed into separation centres. It will also assess the legal and operational framework underpinning these units, including whether the right balance is being struck between security and long-term offender management. The inquiry is expected to produce recommendations aimed at improving frontline safety and reducing the risk of similar attacks. Abedi, who was convicted over the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing which killed 22 people, was transferred from Frankland, in Durham, to Belmarsh prison in south-east London following the attack last month. Three prison officers were taken to hospital with serious injuries following the incident. The attack has triggered outrage among survivors and victims' families. Martin Hibbert, who was left with life-changing injuries, said in an open letter to the Justice Secretary that the incident represented a 'catastrophic failure' to protect both staff and the public. Families of five of those killed have also demanded Abedi be stripped of privileges and denied access to anything that could be used as a weapon. Prison Officers' Association chairman Mark Fairhurst, who will meet Ms Mahmood next week, said staff at Frankland were 'traumatised' and 'angry' about the incident. The latest announcement from the Justice Secretary comes days after Southport triple killer Axel Rudakubana allegedly attacked a prison officer inside HMP Belmarsh. It is claimed the 18-year-old used a kettle in his cell to heat water up before pouring it on an officer.
