Latest news with #stabvests
Telegraph
3 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Front-line prison officers to wear stab vests after string of attacks
Front-line prison officers in high security jails are to be issued with stab vests after a series of knife attacks on staff, the Justice Secretary has announced. Shabana Mahmood told MPs that all prison officers working in specialist units where terrorists and dangerous offenders were isolated would be equipped with body armour. The move has been recommended by a rapid review ordered by Ms Mahmood after Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, attacked three officers with two makeshift knives and hot cooking oil at the high-security HMP Frankland jail in Co Durham. Last week, an officer at Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire was seriously injured when he was stabbed by an inmate. The weapon was believed to have been brought into the high-security jail by a drone. Ms Mahmood said stab vests would initially be issued to officers in separation centres where the most dangerous terrorists were held, of which there are three in high-security jails. Officers will also be provided with body armour in close supervision centres and segregation units, which are used to isolate inmates in the eight high-security jails in England and Wales. The review is understood to say that more evidence is needed to determine whether the stab vests should be issued more widely. Ms Mahmood told MPs: 'This is my initial response to the review but I will set out further action on body armour in due course.' Review 'must go further' Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, urged Ms Mahmood to go further after he commissioned a report recommending that all front-line officers should be issued with stab vests. 'When will she have the backs of all our brave prison officers by giving each and every one of them the protection that they need in the form of high-collar, stab-proof vests, not just a privileged few in the most limited circumstances?' he said. The Ministry of Justice has already suspended the use of kitchens in separation units after Abedi is believed to have crafted his knives out of a baking tray. It is also planning a trial of Tasers in jails. Ms Mahmood has commissioned Jonathan Hall, KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, to explore ways of segregating dangerous offenders after the attack by Abedi, who is serving life for his part in the murder of 22 people in the Manchester Arena bombing of 2017. The Prison Officers' Association has not only called for stab vests for staff but also for all terrorists and violent prisoners who assault officers to be held in US-style 'supermax' units or separate jails. They would only be allowed out of their cells for one hour a day, handcuffed and supervised by three officers. Ms Mahmood also announced that Dame Vera Baird, the former victims' commissioner, will become interim chairman of the beleaguered Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) after it was heavily criticised over its handling of the scandal over Andrew Malkinson. The CCRC's blunders delayed the release of Mr Malkinson from jail for a rape that he did not commit, leading to the removal of its chairman Helen Pitcher.
Telegraph
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Robert Jenrick: Give all prison officers stab vests
Robert Jenrick has backed all prison officers being given stab vests in the wake of two high-profile assaults in recent weeks. Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer, is understood to have thrown boiling water over a guard at HMP Belmarsh on Thursday. The incident came weeks after Hamesh Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, allegedly attacked three prison officers at HMP Frankland in County Durham. Abedi is said to have attacked the officers with weapons and cooking oil, leaving two of them with life-threatening injuries. He has since been moved to Belmarsh. Asking an urgent question in the Commons about the incidents on Monday, Mr Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said that violence against prison officers was 'out of control'. He told MPs: 'In just the past month two of Britain's most dangerous terrorists, Axel Rudakabana and Hashem Abedi, have launched vicious attacks on officers in two of our supposedly most secure prisons. 'The Secretary of State has ordered a snap review into the attack at HMP Frankland. Three weeks later, no answers and no action. Every day longer it goes on the safety of officers is at risk. 'So I ask the minister, when will it conclude? Why hasn't every prison officer exposed to dangerous inmates already been provided with a stab vest? Not in June but now, today. I've spoken to officers who say attacks with boiling water are not uncommon. 'Will he commit today to order the removal of every kettle from high-risk prisoners? Not in June but now, today.' UK must end 'culture of appeasement' Mr Jenrick said that he 'couldn't care less' if Rudakubana never had a hot drink again and called for a 'culture of appeasement' to come to an end immediately. He added: 'If this means keeping them in cells with just a bed, so be it. If it means no contact, no privileges, and certainly no cups of tea, so be it. Let segregation finally mean segregation. 'If the Government doesn't get a grip, a prison officer will be killed. We've had enough reviews, we need action. That's the least prison officers deserve.' Sir Nic Dakin, a justice minister, said the ongoing investigation into the alleged incident involving Rudakubana meant he could not comment in detail. But he insisted the Government would not tolerate any violence against staff and prison officers, saying the Ministry of Justice was preparing further announcements to protect them. 'Prisoners who are violent towards staff will face the full consequences of their actions,' Sir Nic said. 'The Prison Service has commissioned an investigation, terms of reference are being finalised. This will include details of what happened and why and recommendations to prevent recurrences. We will provide updates to Parliament in due course. 'We will make further announcements in the coming days. Our prison officers are some of the most hard-working and brave public servants this country has.' The Sun, which first reported the story, said last week that officers were alerted to the guard's screams and restrained Rudakubana. Rudakubana was jailed for a minimum of 52 years in January after admitting the murders of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29 last year. He was handed 13 life sentences for the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, as well as 10 attempted murders. Rudakubana only avoided a whole life sentence because he was nine days too young. He also pleaded guilty to producing ricin, a biological toxin, and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual – an offence under the Terrorism Act. Abedi, meanwhile, is serving life for 22 murders in the Manchester Arena bombing. The officers suffered burns and stab wounds when he threw hot cooking oil over them before using makeshift weapons to stab the guards, according to the Prison Officers Association. 'Rights of prisoners take precedence over safety of staff' Ian Acheson, a former prison governor who advised the Government on extremism, said over the weekend that dangerous prisoners should not be able to keep kettles in their cells. He told The Telegraph: 'Decisions about what is held in possession in a cell is at the discretion of governors, who should be applying dynamic risk assessments to control any potential harm based on previous or reasonably anticipated behaviour. 'This process seems to have fallen apart at HMP Belmarsh and other high-security prisons where the rights of prisoners take precedence over safety of staff and a naive assumption that giving them things including potentially lethal weapons will appease them.'
