5 hours ago
7
Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent
Police are investigating an alleged attack on a prison officer by Southport killer Axel Rudakubana on Thursday, it is understood.
Rudakubana allegedly threw boiling water over the officer. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said the officer was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure and discharged on the same day.
The Prison Service said violence in prison "will not be tolerated and we will always push for the strongest possible punishment for attacks on our hardworking staff".
The 18-year-old was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in prison for the murder of three young girls in an attack on a dance class in the Merseyside town.
The attack, first reported by the Sun, has raised further concerns about the safety of prison officers, after an attack by Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi in HMP Frankland in April.
Abedi attacked three prison officers by throwing hot cooking oil and using "home made weapons" to stab them, according to the Prison Officers' Association (POA).
The number of assaults on staff in adult prisons in England and Wales per year has reached its highest level in a decade, according to data from the Ministry of Justice.
In response to the rise in attacks, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood previously announced that the use of tasers will be trialled in prisons and confirmed the Prison Service will conduct a "snap review" of the use of protective body armour for prison officers.
Asked if prison officers are safe an interview with the BBC earlier this week, prisons minister James Timpson said: "I think it is fine to work in our prisons."
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said on Friday prison violence had become a "full blown crisis" and called for the justice secretary to act "now" in a post on X.
Rudakubana killed Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Alice Aguiar, nine, and six-year-old Bebe King at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July 2024 in Southport.
He also attacked eight other children, class instructor Leanne Lucas, and businessman John Hayes, who had tried to disarm him.
The 18-year-old was jailed in January for three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, and other offences including producing ricin, possessing terrorist material, and possessing a knife.
A public inquiry into the Southport murders began in April.
In February, the Attorney General rejected calls for the Court of Appeal to review the length of Rudakubana's jail sentence.
Rudakubana's minimum term of 52 years means he cannot be considered for release until he has served that amount of time in prison.
