High-security prison officer stabbed by inmate after ‘argument’

A prison officer had to be airlifted to hospital after being stabbed by an inmate.

The 25-year-old suffered serious injuries during the stabbing at around 10am on Friday at HMP Long Lartin.

He is still in hospital.

West Mercia Police were called and they say the suspect, a 22-year-old, is still in custody within the prison.

The force has denied an audio recording circulating on social media, claiming to be of the aftermath of the incident, is in fact not connected.

They have recovered a weapon as part of the investigation, and it is understood the weapon was smuggled into the prison.

Assistant Chief Constable Grant Wills said: ‘Whilst our investigation is in its early stages, we would like to clarify that this incident is not being treated as terrorism.

‘Our initial enquiries suggest there was a disagreement between an inmate and prison officer that escalated and is an isolated matter within the prison.

‘The injured prison officer currently remains in hospital in a stable condition, and we are sending him our best wishes for a full and quick recovery.’

HMP Long Lartin, in South Littleton, Worcestershire, is both a category A and B prison and can hold more than 600 inmates.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘Police are investigating an attack on a prison officer at HMP Long Lartin.

‘We will not tolerate assaults on hardworking staff and will always push for the strongest punishments against perpetrators.’

The news comes as the chair of the Prison Officers’ Association warned it is ‘only a matter of time’ before a prison officer is murdered by an inmate.

His warning is echoed by a former prison officer at HMP Frankland, who revealed exclusively to Metro that he had boiling urine thrown over him during his time there.

New data shows the number of assaults on prison staff in England and Wales per year has reached its highest level in a decade.

Recent high-profile attacks include Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, who reporeredly injured three HMP Frankland officers by throwing hot cooking oil over them and using ‘home made weapons’ last month.

And earlier this month, Southport killer Axel Rudakubana is accused of throwing boiling water over an officer at HMP Belmarsh.

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