The Prison Service is to suspend the use of kitchens for the most dangerous inmates after the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber attacked three officers at HMP Frankland.
Hashem Abedi, a convicted terrorist who was jailed for life after helping his suicide-bomber brother Salman Abedi carry out the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, set upon staff with hot cooking oil and blades made out of cooking trays.
Two male prison officers remain seriously ill in hospital after the attack on Saturday. A female colleague was treated in hospital and discharged.
The Prison Service will consider whether the ban on inmates in separation units using kitchens should be made permanent.
Police investigating the attack are talking to prosecutors about possible charges, believed to include attempted murder.
The Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for prisons in England and Wales, would not say where Abedi was now being held. The investigation into the attack is being led by counter-terrorism officers, but police are keeping an open mind about the motive.
Abedi is understood not to be under formal arrest. This avoids detectives facing time limits to complete key stages of their investigation, while any risk their suspect poses is mitigated by the fact that he is already behind bars and isolated.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister is appalled by the attack that we saw at the weekend, and his thoughts with the officers involved. Prison staff work around the clock to keep the country safe, and we will never tolerate the violence that is targeted towards them.
“It’s clear that something went terribly wrong in the management of this offender and the government has committed to carry out an investigation to urgently get answers.”
