A long-awaited report that examined how the Manchester Arena plotter was able to carry out an alleged violent attack on prison officers has recommended a new punishment and rewards system for the most dangerous inmates, similar to that used in a US Supermax jail.
David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, is facing demands to publish the report, which looks into why Hashem Abedi, who was jailed for life for helping his brother carry out the 2017 bombing, was able to target staff at HMP Frankland with boiling oil and homemade weapons in a planned ambush.
Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, was commissioned to carry out the review in May by the then lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood. She requested that it be returned “promptly”.
Sent to the lord chancellor’s office in August, the report is understood to recommend that lessons be learned from the US so that for the most dangerous prisoners privileges can be earned or taken away depending on closely monitored standards of behaviour.
In the ADX Florence prison in Colorado, known as the Alcatraz of the Rockies, staff evaluate prisoners continuously. Those who behave well are rewarded with modest but significant extra privileges.
These can include access to exercise, radio and television. Bad behaviour can lead to access privileges being removed and restrictions in contact with other inmates.
Andy Slaughter, the Labour chair of the House of Commons’ justice select committee, has called for the government to publish the report immediately. “Allowances can be made for the MoJ and its ministers. This has been a very busy time for the department and there has been a change in the secretary of state,” he said.
“But after waiting four months, prison officers, the public and parliament should be able to see the recommendations of the report written by Jonathan Hall KC so we can make sure that similar attacks to the one carried out by Hashem Abedi at HMP Frankland never happen again.”
Hashem Abedi was jailed for life in 2020 for helping his brother carry out the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. Photograph: Libya’s Special Deterrence Force/AFP/Getty Images
Abedi was jailed for life in 2020 for helping his brother carry out the 2017 bombing, which killed 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert. He was sentenced to a minimum of 55 years in jail.
After the incident at HMP Frankland in Durham on 12 April, Abedi pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, to assault causing actual bodily harm, and having offensive weapons inside a prison.
Prosecutors allege that he attacked four prison officers with makeshift knives and boiling oil. Three of the prison officers – two men and a woman – were taken to hospital, two with stab wounds.
The attack triggered outrage among survivors and victims’ families. Martin Hibbert, who was left with life-changing injuries in the 2017 bombing, said in an open letter to ministers that the incident represented a “catastrophic failure” to protect staff and the public.
Abedi was held in a separation centre at Frankland, one of three introduced into the England and Wales prison estate by Theresa May’s government in 2017. They have been used to keep terrorists, particularly Islamists, away from most of the prison population.
After the attack, questions were raised over why Abedi and other terror suspects had been given access to kitchen utensils. His knives were fashioned out of cake tins.
Hall’s review has considered whether the internal findings from the Abedi incident point to a need for changes in how extremist offenders are placed into separation centres. It also assesses whether the right balance is being struck between security and long-term offender management.
Abedi is due to appear at the Old Bailey in Februrary.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Protecting our hardworking staff is a priority. In the past 10 weeks, we’ve announced the rollout of body armour to thousands of frontline officers and expanded the use of Tasers.
“We have been thoroughly reviewing Jonathan Hall’s independent report into separation centres and will publish Mr Hall’s report and our response in due course.”
