Terrorists inside UK prisons teaching inmates how to make bombs, study reveals

6 July 2025, 23:02

A recent study has uncovered that terrorists held in British prisons are instructing organised criminals on how to construct explosive devices.

In exchange for the information, extremist inmates are being taught by gang members how to launder money, navigate the dark web, and acquire weapons potentially usable in terror plots.

The findings come amid growing alarm over the emergence of Islamist gangs within the prison system following violent incidents involving prison staff.

Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: “Extremists and career criminals now operate with near impunity inside some of this country’s highest-security prisons.“

"That is a complete failure of leadership – and a dangerous abdication of one of the state’s core duties: maintaining order behind bars.“

"When Islamist terrorists and organised crime figures are left to forge alliances, we aren’t just witnessing a security lapse – we’re watching a national threat incubate in plain sight. This cannot be allowed to continue.”

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The study found that terrorists are learning illicit financial skills to more effectively fund their operations, while gang members and organised criminals are learning how to construct powerful new weapons for use against their adversaries.

Based on interviews with prison officers, former governors, counter-terrorism officials, and inmates, the research indicates that the separation between terrorists and other prisoners is starting to erode.

The study warns that failing to detect and intervene in these interactions could enable dangerous alliances to grow unchecked, both within prisons and in the wider community.

Dr Hannah Bennett, the author of the study, told The Telegraph: “Some prisoners are coming out knowing how to make a bomb. Others are learning how to use the dark web or commit financial crime. For many, it’s about protection – but it’s also about opportunity.”

The report highlights that the terrorists behind the 2004 train bombings in Madrid financed the operation through drug-dealing, while al-Qaeda terrorists have also been known to fund operations through sophisticated credit card fraud.

Dr Bennett warned that the environments where this type of crossover is most likely to happen are high-security prisons, particularly where corruption, violence, and inadequate oversight are present. She called such prisons "black-hole" environments.

Dr Bennett added: “Where you have violent, chaotic prisons with no consistent regime and inmates who are co-located without proper oversight, the risk is exponentially higher.”

She concluded: “The risk is not just ideological or criminal – it’s both. If we continue to treat them in silos, we’re going to miss what’s happening in the overlap.”

An inmate interviewed for the study said authorities appeared to be unaware of what is happening.

He said: “We are blind to it. There are prisoners coming out more radicalised, more connected and more capable – and no one’s clocking it."

Prof Ian Acheson, a former prison governor who also served in the Home Office as the director of community safety, said: “We have several ‘black hole’ prisons where a combination of weak authority, inexperience and poor leadership means the state has effectively surrendered the environment to prisoners.“

"The Chief Inspector of Prisons keeps identifying these places and it is extremely concerning to see some of our high-security prisons are in that number.“

"Here, ideologically inspired offenders and organised crime leaders can mix freely."

"Where you have such lethal capacity cheek by jowl with people with the capability to obtain weapons and help escapes there is an enduring risk to national security.“

"It’s a perfectly rational partnership for those whose only interest is profit. And it can happen in prisons where ferocious violence and staff retreat is becoming the norm.”

The report calls for an urgent reform of prison intelligence strategy, including improved staff training, a clear operational definition of the threat, and an assessment tool to identify high-risk jails.

The findings follow several attacks by high-profile inmates on prison officers. In April, Hashem Abedi, the Manchester Arena bomber serving a life sentence for 22 murder, assaulted three officers in a segregation unit at the high-security HMP Frankland in County Durham. A month later, Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer, allegedly threw boiling water from his kettle over an officer at HMP Belmarsh.