UK Prison Staff Call for Stun G@ns After Att@ck by Manchester Bomber

Prison officers across the UK are calling for electric stun guns to be made available immediately to protect staff working in the country’s most dangerous jails.

This follows a violent attack by Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi at HMP Frankland in County Durham.

Abedi, who is serving a life sentence for his role in the 2017 bombing that killed 22 people, threw hot oil at prison officers and stabbed them with improvised weapons inside the prison’s kitchen area. The attack has sparked outrage among staff and renewed urgent safety concerns.

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) is set to meet Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Wednesday, where they will demand better protection — including access to electric stun guns, commonly known as tasers.

“We are calling for the tactical use of tasers,” said Mark Fairhurst, National Chair of the POA, speaking on BBC Breakfast. “When our current tools like batons and spray don’t work, we have no other options. We need trained staff on site who can respond effectively and safely.”

Currently, prison officers are only equipped with extendable batons and Pava spray, a type of synthetic pepper spray. The POA says that’s not enough in today’s increasingly dangerous prison environment.

They’re also renewing calls for all officers to be issued stab-proof vests and are pushing for stricter “Supermax”-style conditions for the UK’s most dangerous prisoners.

These rules, modelled after American high-security prisons, would keep high-risk inmates handcuffed and escorted by multiple staff whenever outside their cells — and prevent them from mixing with others.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed that Abedi has since been transferred to Belmarsh, another high-security prison in London. They’ve also suspended kitchen access in Frankland’s separation centre, where the attack took place.

In response to the incident, Mahmood stated, “We must do better to protect our prison officers.” She promised an independent review into the attack and a separate internal review of protective gear. However, she made no mention of stun guns in her statement.

Former prison governor Ian Acheson has warned that current protective measures are dangerously outdated, saying, “We are very close to having a frontline prison officer murdered on duty.”

The incident has reignited public debate over prison safety, with many demanding urgent reforms before another tragedy occurs.