New US-style 'Supermax prison units' to be introduced after Manchester Arena bomb plotter attacked officers

Offenders kept in the units will face tougher conditions inspired by supermax prisons in the United States.

The move comes after Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi allegedly carried out a "terrorist" attack on prison officers at a maximum security jail with hot cooking oil and makeshift weapons.

David Lammy said a review by Jonathan Hall KC into the alleged attack on three prison guards at HMP Frankland in 2025 had showed improvements were needed.

He said separation centres, special units inside prisons to house Islamic extremists, would be transformed with a new tiered system.

Separation centres were created in 2017 to isolate extremist offenders from the mainstream prison population.

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Prisons that currently have the centres are HMP Full Sutton near York, HMP Frankland in County Durham, and HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes.

Staff working in such units will receive specialist training, and intelligence collection will be sped up, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) outlined.

Movement between the tiers will only be possible after "rigorous risk assessments", the MoJ said.

Abedi, who was convicted over the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing which killed 22 people, was transferred from Frankland, in Durham, to Belmarsh prison in south-east London following the alleged attack.

Three prison officers were taken to hospital with serious injuries following the incident.

Abedi denied the attack when he appeared at the Old Bailey last year.

Mr Lammy said the Government had accepted all 13 recommendations made by Mr Hall.

Giving a statement to the Commons, he said: "Mr Hall identifies a clear need to transform the way that separation centres are governed and operated.

"That is why we will explore all available options to overhaul the system, including at the next spending review, the creation of new tougher supermax-style units for the most violent, disruptive prisoners.

"This will be a tiered system, with movement between tiers only permitted following rigorous new risk assessments.

"We will begin designing this system immediately."

Mr Lammy said he would consider whether legislation to "protect decisions taken by experienced staff in separation centres" is needed - including around Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) - after a High Court ruled that a convicted terrorist had his human rights breached by being kept away from other prisoners.

He said: "We are strengthening internal processes so they are clear and resilient to challenge, allowing staff to focus on managing risks and protecting the public.

"We will also consider whether new legislation is needed to protect decisions taken by experienced staff in separation centres from mitigation on Article 8 grounds, exploring the full range of options to deliver this while being clear we will remain compliant with our obligations under the ECHR."

Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy said the UK must leave the ECHR to stop prisoners using it to "escape separation centres".