Arena families ‘must have answers’ after prison attack | Manchester News

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has said the families of the Manchester Arena attack victims must be given answers about how the suicide bomber’s brother was able to attack prison guards.

On Saturday, Hashem Abedi threw hot cooking oil and stabbed three prison officers with blades at high security HMP Frankland in County Durham.

Mr Burnham told Radio Manchester he was “surprised” that the convicted killer had access to cooking oil and that he would do all he could to ensure there was accountability.

He said: “Abedi cannot be at liberty to carry on causing harm to other people. That’s the thing I can’t get my head around. But I’m glad there has been the ordering of an inquiry.”

Now aged 28, Abedi was jailed in 2020 for a minimum of 55 years after helping bomber Salman Abedi kill 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at the arena in 2017.

Abedi was moved to Frankland after attacking prison officers at London’s high-security Belmarsh jail in 2020, for which three years and 10 months was added to his sentence.

He had been in the jail’s separation centre, which is used to hold the most dangerous and extremist inmates, and has since been moved back to Belmarsh.

Counter-terror police are currently investigating the incident, with detectives examining whether other inmates in the unit knew about the attack in advance or assisted in the preparation.

The Ministry of Justice has said there will be a full, independent review into Saturday’s attack and that they had suspended access to kitchens in separation and close supervision centres.

Mr Burnham said: “We have to have an explanation as to how this happened and what the arrangements are going forward.

“All of that inquiry needs to be disclosed to the families, in my view, in all of the details so that they see it, and I’m going to make sure that happens.”

Two prison officers remain in hospital with serious injuries from Saturday’s attack, while a third has been discharged.

Earlier this week, a letter to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood from the families of five victims outlined their “absolute disbelief”.

In a separate letter, Martin Hibbert, who was paralysed by the attack, described the incident as “a catastrophic failure of your duty to protect prison staff and the public from an unrepentant terrorist”.

He added: “I was led to believe that people like him – mass murderers, terrorists – would face a regime of strict control and zero comfort. I was told justice would be served.”

Mr Burnham said he would “always support the families in raising their concerns with the authorities” and “they shouldn’t have been in this position”.

Prisons Minister Lord James Timpson has said the terms of reference and scope of the review would be set out in the coming days.