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Manchester Arena terrorist 'should never have been allowed' to work in prison kitchen, says Lord Blunkett
13 April 2025, 12:58
Lord Blunkett has said a terrorist involved in the Manchester Arena attack "should never have been allowed" to work in a prison kitchen, following a vicious attack on prison officers.
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Describing the incident as an "appalling" attack, Lord Blunkett told Lewis Goodall on Sunday that he "just doesn't get" why a convicted terrorist should be allowed in a prison kitchen.
Hashem Abedi, the brother of suicide bomber Salman Abedi, attacked three prison officers on Saturday, sustaining burns and stab wounds in the attack, after Abedi threw hot cooking oil over them, before using makeshift weapons to attack and stab prison guards.
"I think it's just appalling if you have specialist units, which we have for terrorists and they're serving life, effectively - this guy got over 50 years.
"Then you're not talking about rehabilitation, you're not talking about preparing someone for release," he said.
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"You're talking about keeping them safe from other people, including those who are looking after them.
"I just don't get why anyone should have been allowed to work in the kitchen in those circumstances."
Lord Blunkett speaks to Lewis Goodall | Watch again
It comes as the prison service confirmed that the two prisoner officers involved in the attack are now in a "stable" condition following treatment in hospital.
Lord Blunkett told LBC: "I agree entirely with the Prison Office association and a former governor who's advised both the previous and the present Government on these issues, Ian Acheson, that you just need a completely different regime."
Speaking on reforms, he highlighted that he believes "Justice and Home Secretaries will want to work together on this".
"I think I want to not just look at what happened here in Durham, but what's happening in other specialist secure units across the country and just change the policy," he told Lewis.
"It's very different if you're punishing people for a relatively minor crime and you're going to rehabilitate them and perhaps restorative justice as well, to get them out and back into society.
"We're not talking about that in the circumstances of people like this one, whose clear terrorist intent is never going to go away".
