Prison unit emptied after Manchester bomber attack

All prisoners held in the terrorism prison unit where Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi attacked guards have been moved, the BBC has been told.

There were seven prisoners in the HMP Frankland separation centre at the time of Abedi's attack on Saturday, including the extremist preacher Anjem Choudary.

The centre has now been emptied and is the subject of an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation into the attack, which saw Abedi throw hot oil at officers and stab them with improvised blades.

Abedi himself has been moved to London's high-security Belmarsh prison, while the other six prisoners in have been moved to HMP Woodhill, a source told the BBC.

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.

Martin Hibbert, a survivor of the 2017 attack, criticised how Abedi was given the "comfort and privilege" of kitchen facilities and said he was furious the pain of survivors was being so "blatantly disrespected".

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.

Mr Hibbert was paralysed from the waist down in the blast and his daughter Eve left severely disabled.

In an open letter to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Mr Hibbert said: "Let's call this what it is: a catastrophic failure of your duty to protect prison staff and the public from an unrepentant terrorist.

"Not only was Abedi allowed the freedom to move around and use facilities that should never be available to someone like him - he was able to track and target three prison guards using boiling oil and homemade weapons.

"I was led to believe that people like him - mass murderers, terrorists - would face a regime of strict control and zero comfort. I was told justice would be served.

"What I see now is not justice. It's a shameful lack of accountability and basic prison security."

Abedi 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 Belmarsh prison in 2020, for which three years and 10 months was added to his sentence.

Two prison officers remain in hospital with serious injuries from the latest attack, while a third has been discharged.

"I'm not just angry. I'm broken by this," Mr Hibbert added. "And I am furious that the pain of survivors like me is being so blatantly disrespected by your inaction.

"This cannot continue. Something drastic needs to be done. Not tomorrow. Not next month. Now.

"Review his prison privileges. Strip him of any access to areas where he can make or find weapons. Protect your staff. Protect the memory of those we lost. Respect those who survived.

"Because right now, it feels like you've forgotten us."

Mr Hibbert's letter comes a day after families of five people murdered in the Arena bombing told the justice secretary of their "absolute disbelief" over the HMP Frankland attack.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman has said it was "clear that something went terribly wrong" with how Abedi had been handled.

A MoJ spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing and their families who are understandably concerned by the shocking attack at HMP Frankland this weekend.

"We've already taken immediate action to suspend access to kitchens in separation and close supervision centres.

"We will also launch a full independent review into how this attack was able to happen and will set out the terms and scope of this review in the coming days."

With his brother, the suicide bomber Salman Abedi, Hashem Abedi planned and prepared the attack on the Ariana Grande concert in 2017.

He was in Libya when the blast took place and was later extradited to the UK to face trial.

Hashem Abedi was found guilty in 2020 of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion likely to endanger life, and sentenced to a record 55-year minimum term before he could be considered for parole.