Prisoner Slashed Throats Of Guard n Inmate After Shouting "this is for Allah"

A suspected Islamic extremist is alleged to have used the same phrase uttered by the London Bridge attackers when they murdered seven people with knives and a van.

The prisoner allegedly shouted “this is for Allah” before slashing the throat of a jail guard and an inmate - then went on to attack a second prison officer at another jail two days later.

It comes after Prime Minister, Theresa May, warned in the aftermath of the London atrocity last month of violent extremists carrying out copycat attacks “often using the crudest means”.

The violent incident left the prison officer and a fellow lag needing hospital treatment after they were both attacked with a blade at HMP Weyland in Norfolk on Friday afternoon.

Prison bosses are probing how the thug was able to attack a second officer two days later on Sunday after being moved to another jail.

Detectives from Norfolk police are investigating both incidents but so far no arrests have been made.

An official source said the suspect was not serving a sentence for a terror related offence, raising the prospect he had been radicalised in jail.

Questions have been raised over why the alleged attacker was not held in a high risk unit for people who have been radicalised.

A second source confirmed that witnesses say the attacker shouted: “This is for Allah” during the first attack.

The suspect was transferred to HMP Lincoln where he slashed the second prison officer on Sunday, this time with a sharpened piece of masonry, it is claimed, leaving the officer with minor injuries.

One source said of the suspect: “He was voicing extreme views. He said ‘only white people should die’ and ‘This is for Allah’ as he did it.

“He should have gone to a high risk unit for people who have been radicalised. Especially after the first incident at HMP Wayland - he should not have just been transferred to HMP Lincoln.”

A Norfolk police spokeswoman said: “Police are investigating a serious assault which happened at HMP Wayland, near Thetford, on Friday (21 July). The incident happened at about 1.30pm when a prisoner attacked another inmate and a prison officer with a bladed weapon. Both victims suffered cuts which required hospital treatment. The suspect involved was moved to HMP Lincoln where he was involved in another assault against a prison officer on Sunday 23 July (minor injury). “Investigations are ongoing.”

The source said the attacks came amid a background of savage cuts to prison budgets.

The insider said: “This is all happening as prisons...don’t have enough staff - there are big problems in the prison system.”

The source said the HMP Bedford riot involving 230 inmates in November last year showed the service was under strain -and referred to two other incidents this weekend alone - one at HMP Hewell where riot squads were sent in and HMP Aylesbury young offenders institute.

A prison officer was taken to hospital with minor injuries after an “incident” at HMP Hewell near Redditch, Worcestershire, late on Saturday night. Specially trained prison security teams arrived after a “small number” of inmates at the category B jail were involved in the disturbance.

At HMP Aylesbury Young Offenders Institute, violence broke out on Friday night leaving a ‘number of staff’ and an imate needing hospital treatment.

Years of savage government cuts have seen the prison service stretched to its limits.

Budgets have been slashed by a reported £700 million since 2010 and the number of prison officers has fallen by some 7,000 to 18,000 during that period.

The chief inspector of prisons, Peter Clarke, found a 38% increase in assaults on staff in a report released earlier this month.

He said suicides have doubled since 2013 to 113, and 21 out of 29 local and training prisons rated poor or not sufficiently good for safety.

Staffing levels in many jails are too low to keep order and maintain standards, he said.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We do not tolerate any violence against our hardworking staff. When incidents like this occur we will always work closely with the police to push for the strongest possible punishment. 

“We have referred both of these incidents to the police and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”

Mirror UK