A former prison officer at HMP Frankland has voiced concerns about staff safety following a recent attack in which Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, doused officers in boiled urine and hot oil, according to The Metro. Despite HMP Frankland being a high-security facility, one officer suffered third-degree burns, and two others were stabbed, requiring emergency surgery.
He told The Metro: 'I couldn't sleep the night after the attack because I just know what they are going through. They might never go back to work.'
The officer, who did not wish to be named, worked in the prison system for four years before deciding to quit due to the stresses of the job.
The ex-officer, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that such incidents are preventable only if the government prioritises staff safety over inmate comfort. He recounted his own experiences of being punched, kicked, and having boiling urine thrown on him during his four years in the prison system, leading to his resignation.
Abedi was kept on a wing separated from other prisoners to prevent him from radicalising anyone else after he helped his brother Salman plan the Manchester bombing in 2017.
Three staff would have been assigned to watch and be with him at all times after he attacked another prison officer while at HMP Belmarsh in 2020.
He said, 'Frankland was one of the safest and most staffed prisons I worked at, and if you can't prevent severe attacks there, then where can you?'
'If it wasn't going to be hot cooking oil, it was going to be something else - he is out to attack as many people as he can. He will kill someone one day.'
Around 20 prisoners are housed in the separation units at HMP Frankland and the second at HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire.
