Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi has been transferred back to Belmarsh prison following an attack on three prison officers at HMP Frankland in County Durham.
The incident occurred over the weekend when Abedi allegedly assaulted the guards with hot cooking oil before stabbing them with improvised weapons.
The three officers were working at the high-security jail when they were attacked in what the Prison Officers Association described as a serious assault.
Abedi has now been moved to southeast London's Belmarsh, considered the UK's most secure prison facility and has been placed in the only available highly-controlled 'suite' cell in the country, a standalone self-contained unit.
Hashem Abedi is back at Belmarsh
PA
The cell requires a minimum of five people and a prison dog to monitor him at all times. There are only four such cells across England and Wales.
The attack at HMP Frankland is believed to have taken place in the kitchen area of the separation unit, where the country's most dangerous criminals are housed.
According to reports, Abedi used makeshift weapons fashioned from baking trays during the assault.
Abedi was convicted of assisting his brother Salman in the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack, which killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, 2017.
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The Glade of Light Memorial dedicated to the memory of those who died at the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017PAHe was sentenced in 2020 to a minimum of 55 years in prison after being found guilty of 22 counts of murder.
This is not Abedi's first violent incident behind bars. In 2020, he was found guilty of attacking a prison officer at Belmarsh, alongside two other convicted terrorists.
The 28-year-old had been in Libya at the time of the bombing but was extradited to the UK to face justice.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was "appalled" by the attack and that his thoughts were with the officers involved.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "It's clear that something went terribly wrong in the management of this offender and the Government is committed to carrying out an investigation to urgently get answers."
Police stand guard near the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in ManchesterGettyThe Ministry of Justice has suspended access to kitchens in separation and close supervision units following the incident. A full, independent review into the attack is expected to be launched by the end of this week.
Families of five Manchester Arena victims have written to the Justice Secretary expressing "absolute disbelief" at the attack.
In their letter, they stated: "He should not be allowed any privileges whatsoever while serving a sentence for the deaths of 22 innocent lives."
The families have called for Abedi to be placed in permanent solitary confinement. Manchester Arena survivor Martin Hibbert described the incident as a "catastrophic failure" in an open letter.
He wrote: "I'm not just angry. I'm broken by this. And I am furious that the pain of survivors like me is being so blatantly disrespected."
