One of the country's most infamous prisons witnesses frequent violent attacks, and countless disturbing incidents and has housed some of the UK's most notorious criminals.
HMP Belmarsh, located in Thamesmead, South London, is a high-security Category A prison, which, according to the government website, houses "male prisoners who, if they were to escape, pose the most threat to the public, the police or national security". Belmarsh is where some of the UK's most violent offenders have, and continue to serve out their sentences, including "Grindr Killer" Stephen Port who killed four young men and raped many more and serial rapist police offer David Carrick.
Both Wayne Couzens, copper killer of Sarah Everard and child murderer Ian Huntly spent time there before they were both moved to other prisons. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange also currently presides at Belmarsh while the US debate ending his extradition.
Hashem Abedi smiling moments before launching an attack on a prison officer at HMP BelmarshThe facility imposes extremely strict rules on inmates, but despite the fact that inmates are confined to their cells for long periods of the day and watched and controlled closely by staff, newly revealed records show that this has not stopped violent assaults and other incidents from taking place. According to a Freedom of Information request released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), there were more than 280 assaults at Belmarsh in 2023 alone, reports the Daily Star.
In an incident log obtained by the Metro, a report reveals a member of staff at the prison was subject to "jugging" in April last year, which saw one prisoner concoct a mixture of boiling water, oil and Vaseline and throw it in his face. The record says that the prison orderly's "forehead has peeled off due to the burns." Allegedly, the incident occurred after the prisoner was given what he considered to be a "dirty food box" by the staff member, a sign of "disrespect" in his eyes, which prompted him to carry out the monstrous attack. He has now been moved to another part of the prison. However, this gruesome story is just one of many.
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According to reports, inmates at the facility fashioned a makeshift weapon resembling a knife by melting tin onto a toothbrush handle, resulting in one prisoner inflicting numerous cuts on a fellow inmate's face. In another incident, a scuffle erupted in the shower area when one inmate attempted to assault another using a tin of tuna concealed in a sock. Both altercations were swiftly addressed by prison officers who restrained the perpetrators.
The record also indicates an alarming incident where a prisoner allegedly attempted to strangle his cellmate using a bedsheet. Witnesses noted the victim's skin had taken on a blue-grey hue, prompting immediate intervention by officers. The condition of the victim following the attack remains undisclosed.
In 2022, Hashem Abedi, brother of terrorist Salman Abedi who killed 22 people in a suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena after an Ariana Grande concert in 2017 bomber, was found guilty - along with two other inmates of a "vicious" attack on a prison officer. The incident raised renewed concerns about extremists within the prison engaging in discussions about terrorist ideologies, commonly referred to as "jihad banter."
Terror offender Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, who was jailed for attacking a police officer with a sword outside Buckingham Palace in 2017, reportedly told undercover police officers that he associated with "like-minded brothers" in Belmarsh. The ISIS supporter said: "There's many many radical Muslims in prison and usually that's all they would talk about."
Last year, the Ministry of Justice released a statement arguing that it does not accept violence within its prisons, saying: "[We] can confirm that we will never tolerate violence against our hard-working officers and assaults have fallen by more than 20% since 2019. Our £125 million investment to improve safety in prisons has clamped down on the weapons, drugs and mobile phones that fuel crime and violence behind bars, while we have also equipped officers with PAVA spray to boost protection."
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