The leader of the prison officers’ union in Britain is advocating for the adoption of US-style ‘super-max’ prisons to address the issue of dangerous prisoners. He emphasized the need for a system that separates violent inmates by confining them to their cells for almost the entire day, mirroring the American approach.
Mark Fairhurst, the chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association, stressed the urgency of implementing such measures to prevent potential tragedies within the prison system. He urged authorities to take swift action before any unfortunate incidents occur.
Fairhurst’s proposal comes in the aftermath of yet another violent incident in a British prison, raising concerns about the safety and security of both inmates and staff. The call for a more stringent system aligns with his goal of preventing further harm within correctional facilities.
‘Super-max’ conditions would only allow the worst inmates to leave their cell for an hour of exercise a day.
In practice, they would be banned from associating with other prisoners, using cooking facilities and equipment, and escorted while handcuffed by three staff when they leave their cell.
The warning follows an assault at Belmarsh high security prison when Southport triple killer Axel Rudakubana allegedly threw boiling water at a guard.
It is understood the 18-year-old was able to boil the water in a kettle in his cell and throw it through a hatch.
The attack came just weeks after Manchester Arena terrorist Hashem Abedi, 28, fashioned two 20cm-blades from baking trays and threw boiling oil over three guards in a Separation Centre (SC) at HMP Frankland in County Durham, which houses a small number of the most radical terrorists.
Southport killer Axel Rudakubanu (pictured) is alleged to have hurled boiling water over a prison guard
Rudakubana has been caged on the same secure unit as Manchester Arena terrorist, Hashem Abedi (above), who assaulted prison guards in HMP Frankland last month
In the US, the only federally run ‘super-max’ prison is ADX Florence in Colorado, nicknamed the Alcatraz of the Rockies (pictured)
Islamic preacher Abu Hamza al Misary (pictured) is locked up in the ‘super-max’ prison ADX Florence in Colorado
Notorious hate preacher Anjem Choudary (pictured) explained how Separation Centres, which houses a small number of the most radical terrorists actually benefit extremist inmates
One male officer was stabbed in the neck, with the blade coming close to severing an artery. Another male officer was stabbed at least five times in the back, puncturing a lung. One of their female colleagues was also injured.
Counter-terror police are investigating how the attack was planned. One line of enquiry is said to focus on what role, if any, notorious hate preacher Anjem Choudary played in the ‘ambush’.
Prison officers believe Choudary – described as the ‘Daddy’ of the SC in Frankland where he is serving 28 years, and one of the first extremists to have been placed in the centre in 2017 – might have encouraged Abedi to carry out the attack.
In 2022, Choudary explained how SCs actually benefit extremist inmates.
‘Practising Muslims who go to prison want to spend their time with fellow Muslims, and they don’t want to be constantly looking over their shoulder,’ he said.
‘This creates an ideal scenario for them – being placed with like-minded individuals – where they can collectively ignore the prison infrastructure entirely.’
In 2023, Denny De Silva, a drug-dealing murderer, who converted to Islam upon being jailed was moved to an SC.
De Silva, who is described as an ‘extremist enforcer’ who ‘influences and incites’ other Muslim prisoners wherever he goes, launched a legally aided court battle in which he claimed his human rights had been breached.
Rudakubana was jailed for life after launching an attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last July, in which he murdered Bebe King (left), Elsie Dot Stancome (middle) and Alica da Silva Aguiar (right)
Located along a single short corridor, the SC includes cells with sound-blocking glass ‘bafflers’ to prevent the men inside from radicalising inmates on other wings.
But De Silva’s High Court hearing revealed that he still had access to the gym and library, he complained his time there was ‘limited’ – as was his use of a computer.
He also complained about timetabled ‘nutrition sessions’ that didn’t take place – instead he was given healthy-eating leaflets to read – while cooking classes failed to meet his expectations.
The Frankland unit houses a TV room featuring a pool table and bookshelf, and while there are no fitness facilities, staff can arrange for inmates to visit the main prison gym and they are entitled to five hours out of their cells on weekends.
The inmates can also access a kitchen area, which Abedi – who helped his brother Salman plan the Manchester Arena bombing – used to source and heat the cooking oil and fashion his makeshift blades.
Former prison officer Neil Samworth, said the way dangerous terrorists like Abedi were being managed was ‘madness’.
‘The fact that Abedi had access to all the kitchen facilities is hard to comprehend, but typical of the way prisons are run today,’ he told MailOnline.
‘The staff are not safe on these wings.’
CCTV showing Hashem Abedi in Belmarsh prison prior to storming the office of its custody manager in 2022
Cooking facilities in the separation unit at Frankland, where Hashem Abedi is serving 55 years
The SC at HMP Frankland is located along a narrow corridor, described by inspectors as ‘small and cramped’
In the US, the only federally run ‘super-max’ prison is ADX Florence in Colorado, nicknamed the Alcatraz of the Rockies.
Inmates are strictly controlled and additional penalties are imposed if they break any rules.
They include a large number of British terrorists, including Abu Hamza, the hook-handed preacher from Finsbury Park mosque, north London; Richard Reid, the airline shoe-bomber; and the “Isis Beatles”, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh.
‘For the most violent, dangerous criminals who are intent on committing atrocities and attacking staff, the time has come for control and containment,’ Mr Fairhurst told The Sunday Times. ‘This cohort of prisoners should not enjoy the same privileges and freedoms as those who do conform.’
In Britain, serious assaults on prison officers increased 19 per cent in a year according to Home Office figures.
Professor Acheson, who led an independent review of Islamist extremism in prisons, called on the Prison Service to put staff protection above prisoners’ rights.
He said: ‘A prisoner having a kettle is not a human right, especially when it could be used as a weapon by somebody who is dangerous.
‘There is a forest of red flags accompanying this wretched young man and, given that, I cannot see any reason why he would have been provided with anything other than food and drink delivered to his cell, because the risk he poses is serious and very obvious.
The 18-year-old triple murderer reported carried out the attack at HMP Belmarsh (pictured) in Thamesmead, east London, where he is serving a life sentence
Professor Ian Acheson (pictured) is a former prison governor who says the balance in UK prisons ‘has become completely skewed’
‘There has been a recent escalation in violent attacks and it is reasonable to conclude that we are closer to the murder of a prison officer on duty than ever before. That is a real and significant prospect and is one which the Prison Service is ignoring.
‘The balance has become completely skewed, particularly at Belmarsh, in favour of the rights of prisoners against the harm they might pose to prison officers.
‘That balance is dangerously out of whack and needs to be restored.’
It is believed that Rudakubana was in a cell in Belmarsh’s healthcare centre when the attack happened.
A prison source said it was ‘unsurprising’ he was in that wing because the nature of his crime and his life sentence would put him at high risk of self-harm.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘Violence in prison will not be tolerated and we will always push for the strongest possible punishment for attacks on our hardworking staff.’
But former prison governor Professor Acheson branded the statement as ‘delusional, hopeless boiler plate rubbish’ adding: ‘Not only is it tolerated, it is normalised.
‘People running the Prison Service always talk about overcrowding, but none of these high security prisons are overcrowded – none of them. Something else is going on.
The second separation unit is located at HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire
Police interviewing Hashem Abedi following the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack
‘And I believe that something else is the completely inappropriate appeasement of very dangerous prisoners by leadership who are effectively throwing their frontline staff under the bus.’
When Abedi, jailed for life for helping his brother carry out the 2017 suicide bombing, attacked the prison officers at Frankland, they were equipped with only extendable batons and cans of incapacitant spray.
He was moved to Belmarsh and is being held in the same segregation unit as Rudakubana.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘The Met is investigating after a prison officer was subject to a serious assault at HMP Belmarsh.’
