The UK’s justice ministry announced a full review on Sunday after Hashem Abedi, the jailed accomplice in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, allegedly attacked prison guards with hot oil and improvised weapons.
According to the Prison Officers’ Association, Abedi threw cooking oil on three officers at HMP Frankland in Durham on Saturday before stabbing them with “home-made weapons.” Two of the guards remain hospitalized with serious injuries, while the third has been discharged.
“An investigation is underway following a serious assault which occurred at HMP Frankland,” said regional counter-terror police, confirming that the suspect had been detained.
The Ministry of Justice said the incident would be thoroughly reviewed alongside the ongoing police investigation. “The government will do whatever it takes to keep our hardworking staff safe,” a ministry spokesperson said.
Abedi is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 55 years for his role in the Manchester Arena bombing that killed 22 people, many of them children and teenagers, at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017. His brother Salman Abedi detonated the suicide bomb, while Hashem was convicted of playing an “integral part” in the Islamic State-inspired plot.
UK Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood condemned the attack, expressing outrage over the assault on prison staff. “I will be pushing for the strongest possible punishment,” she said. “Violence against our staff will never be tolerated.”
