Manchester Arena families in ‘disbelief’ that ‘evil’ Hashem Abedi was able to attack prison officers
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailThe families of five people murdered by Hashem Abedi in the Manchester Arena bombing say they are in “disbelief” he was able to attack prison officers in HMP Frankland. Abedi, who was in a high-security unit, attacked three prison officers on Saturday by throwing hot oil at them and stabbing them with makeshift weapons, POA, the prison officers union said. Now, the bombing victims’ families have expressed outrage that Abedi “has been allowed to cause danger to life” in a letter to justice secretary Shabana Mahmood seen by the BBC. Abedi, who had been a long-term inmate at HMP Frankland’s separation centre, was jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 55 years for the murders of 22 people after helping his brother carry out the suicide bombing of an Ariana Grande concert in 2017. open image in galleryHMP Frankland, where three prison officers suffered serious injuries (Tom Wilkinson/PA) (PA Archive)He moved to the separation centre after carrying out an attack on prison officers in London’s MMP Belmarsh in 2020. The families’ letter to Ms Mahmood says: "We are writing in absolute disbelief" that, once again, the "evil Hashem Abedi has been allowed to cause danger to life". "As the families of Megan Hurley, Eilidh Macleod, Chloe Rutherford, Liam Curry, and Kelly Brewster, our beautiful, beloved children who were so tragically murdered along with 16 others in the Manchester Arena terror attack in May 2017, we find this situation beyond comprehension." The families explained they understood prison would mean he was confined to a cell to 23 hours a day and served meal through a hatch and added that in their view he should not be allowed any privileges. Abedi had access to the kitchen in Frankland’s separation centre – one of only two centres currently in use. Following the attack, he was moved to the separation centre at HMP Full Sutton. Inmates of separation centres - used to house a small number of the UK’s most dangerous inmates - have since been barred from using kitchens. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it will launch a full independent review into how the attack was able to happen. In response to the letter, it said in a statement that their thoughts remain with the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing and their families. An MoJ spokesperson added in response to the kitchen ban: "The Government will do whatever it takes to keep our hardworking staff safe, and our thoughts remain with the two prison officers still in hospital as they recover. “We’ve already taken immediate action to suspend access to kitchens in separation and close supervision centres.” Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said it was clear “something went terribly wrong” with how Abedi was handled. His spokesman added: “The prime minister is appalled by the attack that we saw at the weekend and his thoughts are with the officers involved. “Prison staff work around the clock to keep the country safe and we will never tolerate the violence that is targeted towards them.” The attack comes after Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the POA, called on the government to remove cooking facilities from separation centres. He disagreed that offenders in these facilities should be given the same privileges as normal location prisoners.
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