Investigations Correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Senior UK correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Three prison officers have been attacked by Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, a source has told the BBC.<\/p>\n The officers sustained life-threatening injuries on Saturday including burns, scalds and stab wounds in the attack at HMP Frankland in County Durham, the Prison Officers’ Association said.<\/p>\n Abedi threw hot cooking oil over the officers and used “home made weapons” to stab them, the organisation said. <\/p>\n The Prison Service confirmed three officers have been treated in hospital after an attack by a prisoner, adding police were investigating. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n As of 16:00 BST on Saturday, one female officer treated in hospital had been discharged.<\/p>\n A prison officer at HMP Frankland told BBC News “staff are shaken by what’s happened”.<\/p>\n “It’s a difficult day at the prison when colleagues are seriously hurt. You can’t help asking yourself why you do this job when something like this happens,” they added.<\/p>\n Abedi is the brother of Salman Abedi who carried out the Manchester Arena bombing which killed 22 people in 2017.<\/p>\n After Hashem Abedi, 28, was named by the Prison Officers’ Association as being involved in the attack, a government source confirmed to the BBC he was the prisoner involved.<\/p>\n Abedi was found guilty of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion likely to endanger life in 2020 following the Manchester Arena attack.<\/p>\n In 2022, Abedi, along with two others, was found guilty of a previous “vicious attack” on two prison officers.<\/p>\n Saturday’s attack took place in a separation centre used to hold the country’s most dangerous and influential extremist prisoners. The centre holds less than 10 inmates. Abedi has been a long-term resident.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Following the incident, the chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, Mark Fairhurst, said the freedoms given to prisoners in these centres should be reviewed.<\/p>\n “I am of the opinion that allowing access to cooking facilities and items that can threaten the lives of staff should be removed immediately,” Mr Fairhurst said.<\/p>\n “These prisoners need only receive their basic entitlements and we should concentrate on control and containment instead of attempting to appease them. Things have to change.”<\/p>\n A Durham Constabulary spokesman has confirmed an investigation is under way following a “serious assault” at HMP Frankland.<\/p>\n The spokesman also said that two victims remain in hospital with “serious injuries”.<\/p>\n Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “I am appalled by the attack of three brave officers at HMP Frankland today. My thoughts are with them and their families.<\/p>\n “The police are now investigating. I will be pushing for the strongest possible punishment. Violence against our staff will never be tolerated.”<\/p>\n Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick called the attack “extremely concerning”.<\/p>\n “There are serious concerns about the prison leadership’s ability to contain the threat from Islamist extremist inmates,” he said.<\/p>\n “This deeply serious security failure must be a turning point,” he added as he referenced a previous social media post of his titled “Britain’s prisons are being overrun by Islamist gangs”.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Prison Service said violence in prisons “will not be tolerated”.<\/p>\n “We will always push for the strongest punishment for attacks on our hardworking staff.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Greater](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8fa5\/live\/442d9700-17c5-11f0-8a1e-3ff815141b98.png.webp\")
Greater Manchester Police<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"PA](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/7602\/live\/81a28920-17ce-11f0-924a-0f91f8158999.jpg.webp\")
PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n