Prison officers 'attacked with boiling urine' in UK's most violent units

Hashem Abedi in Belmarsh prison prior to storming the office of its custody manager in 2022

An ex-prison officer at HMP Frankland has revealed he had boiled urine thrown over him and warned a staff member ‘will end up dead’.

Last week brother of the Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi,28,doused officers in hot oil at HMP Frankland in Durham.

Despite being housed in one of the most secure prison wings in the country,one officer suffered third degree burns while two others were stabbed and needed emergency surgery.

But an ex-prison officer at Frankland has said nothing could have prevented the attack until the government starts prioritising staff safety over the comfort of criminals.

He told 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.

Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi,doused officers in hot oil at HMP Frankland in Durham (Picture: AP)

Inside a cell at HMP Frankland (Picture: Ian McIlgorm)

He revealed he had been punched,kicked and even had a kettle filled with boiling urine thrown over him.

He also watched as one of his colleagues was stabbed in the neck while he was on a brief transfer to HMP Woodhill.

‘It’s not if Abedi will kill a prison officer,it’s when’

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 was 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?’

Attacks on prison staff rising due to staffing shortages,officers claim

In the year ending September 2024,there were 29,881 assaults inside prison walls.More than 10,000 of these were against staff members,according to the Ministry of Justice.Budget cuts has caused deteriorating behaviour and well trained staff leaving,the former officers have claimed,Sam Samworth,a former guard at HMP Manchester,said.He told Metro: ‘When I first started there was a regular regime and prisoners were out most of the day,but from 2015,it was an absolute car crash.‘But prisoners are now running the jails,there is no discipline,and they are spending way too much time locked up in their cell.‘It is just part of a pipeline which is leading to bigger problems.’‘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. They are allowed to mix with each other,but forbidden from socialising with the rest of the prison population over risk of them radicalising others.Other prisoners housed at HMP Frankland include Ian Huntley,Wayne Couzens and Levi Bellfield.

‘The ship isn’t sinking,it has already sunk’

The kitchen inmates have access to (Picture: ITV)It is likely Abedi now has six officers in full protective gear assigned to him in his cell all day – but eventually this will be reduced back down to three.The officer said: ‘Instructions will come down to test his compliance and it will eventually be scaled back,until he attacks someone else again.‘Prisoner appeasement is being placed over staff safety. There is not enough support and staffing levels are still low,so we are always vulnerable to attacks.‘The ship isn’t sinking,it has already sunk.’He revealed prisoners on best behaviour are allowed TVs and PlayStations in their cells,but it is difficult to remove them when needed.Frankland prison houses some of the most dangerous inmates in the UK system.

In the Separation Unit (Picture: Ian McIlgorm)‘If a psychologist believes taking a TV away from them will be a detriment to their mental health,then we can’t do anything,’ he said.Minister for Prisons Lord James Timpson said: ‘Like everyone,I was appalled by the attack at the weekend and yesterday I visited HMP Frankland to thank our hardworking staff.‘This Government will do everything it can to protect those working in our prisons. As an immediate response we have suspended the use of kitchens for prisoners held in separation and close supervision centres.‘We have also launched an independent review into how this attack was able to happen. We will set out the terms and scope of this review in the coming days.’