Islamist gangs are “ruling the roost” in British jails, operating “quasi-Sharia courts”, according to Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick.
Speaking to GB News, the senior Tory warned of the growing trend after Hashem Abedi, one of the men responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing, attacked three prison officers at the high-security HMP Franklin.
According to Jenrick, this is just a taste of the wide scale troubles prevalent in jails across the country.
“This is a very concerning incident. This is one of the most dangerous people in the country”, he said.
Robert Jenrick says Islamists are ruling the roost in British prisons
PA / GB NEWS
“He was in a so-called separation unit, an area of the prison designed to stop extremists from causing difficulties and yet he had access to materials to create a makeshift weapon.
“He stabbed prison officers and took boiling oil which he poured over the officers. My thoughts are with the officers and their family.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Hashem Abedi threw hot cooking oil over guards, then produced homemade weapons and proceeded to stab themGREATER MANCHESTER POLICE“There is mounting evidence that Islamist organisations, there is one called The Brotherhood, which forcibly converts people within our prisons, are ruling the roost.
“They are dictating to governors how the jails operate. They are dictating things like the diet of prisoners. They are dictating things like Sharia courts in prisons.
“They are controlling them with floggings and beatings. This has got to end and governors have got to assert themselves and take back control of these prison wards.
“There should not be these Islamist gangs taking control of our prisons.”
Robert Jenrick joined Tom Harwood and Emily Carver on GB News
GB NEWS
The Times reported last week that vulnerable prisoners are being kept in segregation units at the prison where Abedi carried out the attack.
This is because they refuse to be converted to Islam, meaning they are kept away from extremists for their own safety.
Ex-prison governor Ian Acheson warned the issue could lead to race riots inside the prison and could create a “national security threat”.
As well as Abedi, Frankland is notable for inmates like serial killer and rapist Levi Bellfield, who murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler.
It also holds Wayne Couzens, who kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard in 2021.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) told the Times it did not recognise claims that HMP Frankland prisoners were being isolated.
GB News has approached the MoJ for comment.
