Prison staff to demand electric stun guns in jails

Prison officers are to demand that staff be immediately given electric stun guns to protect themselves while guarding the UK's most dangerous jails when they meet the justice secretary on Wednesday.

The meeting with Shabana Mahmood comes after Hashem Abedi, one of the men responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing, threw hot oil at officers and stabbed them with makeshift weapons at HMP Frankland in County Durham.

Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the Prison Officers' Association (POA), told the BBC that they are "calling for the tactical use of taser".

In a statement, Mahmood said "we must do to better protect our prison officers in the future".

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Fairhurst said: "My concerns are that when we face life threatening situations, we no longer have tactical options.

"If extendible batons and incapacitant spray fail to work adequately, we have no other options available."

"That's why we are calling for the tactical use of taser. We want specially trained staff on site who respond to incidents with the ability to deploy taser to neutralise that threat.

"At the moment we haven't got that."

Prison officers currently only carry an extendable baton and Pava incapacitant spray - synthetic pepper spray.

The POA will also renew calls for all staff to have stab vests.

Mr Fairhurst has also called for American "Supermax"-style rules imposed on the UK's most dangerous inmates.

This would mean selected high-risk inmates would leave their cell only when handcuffed and escorted by three staff, he told the Guardian newspaper.

There would also be no mixing with other prisoners, and they would be restricted to their basic entitlement of rights and privileges.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said there will be a full, independent review into the incident, which has drawn criticism from survivors and the families of victims of the Manchester Arena bombing.

Former prison governor Ian Acheson said the current protective equipment issued to prison officers, particularly those that deal with the most dangerous prisoners, is inadequate compared to the "level of threat" they face.

"We need some urgent action by the Ministry of Justice to protect frontline staff or we are very close to having a frontline prison officer murdered on duty," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Security measures at the separation centre did allow prisoners access to kitchens - where Abedi carried out his attack - but this has been suspended by the MoJ following the incident.

Mahmood said the review would "provide recommendations and findings that highlight whether there are any changes in process or policies that can be implemented at HMP Frankland and more broadly across the High Security Estate".

An internal review into protective body armour will be also carried out, she said.

There was no mention of electric stun guns in the statement.

Abedi, who helped his older brother Salman plan the Manchester Arena bombing, was jailed for life with a minimum 55 years in prison after being convicted of murdering 22 people.

He had been held in a separation centre - which holds a small number of inmates deemed to be dangerous and extremist - at Frankland.

He moved to Frankland after carrying out an earlier attack on prison officers in London's Belmarsh prison in 2020, for which three years and 10 months was added to his sentence.

Abedi has since been returned to Belmarsh.