Manchester Arena families in 'disbelief' bomber was able to attack officers

The families of (clockwise from top left) Liam Curry, Chloe Rutherford, Megan Hurley, Eilidh MacLeod and Kelly Brewster say the situation was "beyond comprehension"

The families of five people murdered by Hashem Abedi in the Manchester Arena bombing have told the justice secretary of their "absolute disbelief" that he was allowed to attack prison officers in HMP Frankland.

Despite being held in a high-security unit, Abedi, 28, attacked three prison officers on Saturday with improvised blades and hot cooking oil.

In a letter seen by the BBC, the families say Abedi "should not have access to anything that he can weaponise" and urged the government to ensure he "cannot be allowed to hurt anyone else".

Abedi was jailed for life with a minimum 55 years in prison after being convicted of murdering 22 people in the 2017 attack carried out by his brother, Salman.

Separately, Russell Hayward, the boyfriend of Martyn Hett who was also killed in the attack, told BBC Newsnight the latest incident was "sickening and outrageous".

Since the letter was sent to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday, inmates of separation centres have been barred from using kitchens.

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

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 London's 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.

One suffered a severed artery after being stabbed in the neck and the other received severe stab wounds to the back, the chairman of the prison officers' association said. Abedi is suspected of fashioning the blades from a baking tray, Mark Fairhurst added.

The letter says "we are writing in absolute disbelief" that, once again, the "evil Hashem Abedi has been allowed to cause danger to life".

They go on: "As the families of Megan Hurley, Eilidh Macleod, Chloe Rutherford, Liam Curry, and Kelly Brewster, our beautiful, beloved children who were so tragically murdered along with 16 others in the Manchester Arena terror attack in May 2017, we find this situation beyond comprehension."

The families say they understood prison to mean "confinement in a cell for 23 hours a day, meals served through a hatch, and a single hour outside the cell, accompanied by a prison officer" - which they described as "the very minimum measure of justice for the devastation he caused".

They write: "In our view, he should not be allowed any privileges whatsoever while serving a sentence for the deaths of 22 innocent lives and the injuring of many more.

"He should not have access to anything that he can weaponise, such as hot oil or items he can turn into blades."

Hashem Abedi left prison officers at HMP Frankland in hospital with serious injuries following an attack on Saturday

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said there would be a full, independent review into the incident, which saw the three prison officers suffer stab wounds and burns.

The families asked Mahmood to "consider the full gravity of Abedi's actions when determining any further punishment".

They wrote "His continuing violence in prison, attacking prison officers in Belmarsh and now attempting to murder three more, shows he feels no remorse and has no respect for human life.

"We send our heartfelt sympathies to the three prison officers who were injured on Saturday, as well as their families. Hashem Abedi cannot be allowed to hurt anyone else.

"As broken families, we firmly believe the appropriate punishment for this individual should be permanent solitary confinement. In truth, anything harsher would be more fitting."

Twenty-two people were killed in the Manchester Arena bombing, with hundreds more injured

The MoJ said in a statement responding to the letter: "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."

It added that it would be setting out the terms and scope of the review into the incident in the coming days.

Mahmood has said separately that she will be pushing for the "strongest possible punishment" for Abedi.

Speaking on Newsnight, Mr Hayward said Abedi needs to be "watched all the time".

"I didn't expect someone of his status to be so freely near a kitchen, let alone there long enough to construct this weapon and then traumatise more people," he said.

"This person has caused more pain and inflicted more trauma on people.

"I think he should be in solitary confinement, 24/7.

"I think his life inside should be so horrific, there should be no treats. He should be in a straightjacket."

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.

It is understood that Hashem Abedi has been moved to the separation centre at HMP Full Sutton following the kitchen attack.