Prison officers should be armed with lethal weapons to crack down on Islamist terrorists, Tories say
Prison officers should be armed with lethal weapons to crack down on Islamist terrorists in jail, the shadow justice secretary has said.
Highly trained teams should also be equipped with tasers, stun grenades and baton rounds to tackle dangerous criminals in high-security jails, Robert Jenrick said.
The plan is taken from a series of recommendations by counter-extremism expert and former prison governor Ian Acheson.
It comes after a prison officer at high-security prison Long Lartin in Worcestershire was stabbed on Friday morning with a weapon Sky News understands was brought in from outside the prison.
It also follows several attacks on prison officers in jails.
In April this year, the Manchester Arena bomb plotter, Hashem Abedi, allegedly assaulted prison staff by throwing hot oil on them and then launching a stabbing attack, injuring three officers.
At Belmarsh prison, Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been accused of throwing boiling water over an officer through the hatch in his cell door earlier this month.
File pic: PA
Mr Jenrick said: “Islamist gangs and violent prisoners in our jails are out of control.
It’s a national security emergency, but the government is dithering. If they don’t act soon, there is a very real risk that a prison officer is kidnapped or murdered in the line of duty, or that a terrorist attack is directed from inside prison.”
He said he commissioned Mr Acheson to conduct a rapid review into measures the government could adopt.
The measures include removing all radical Islamist imams working in prisons, immediately rolling out high-collar stab vests to frontline officers, and mandating the quarterly release of data on religious conversions in prison and faith-based incidents.
It also recommended legislating to overturn the De Silva ruling to strip back judicial interference in operational decisions by governors to isolate extremists.
Mr Jenrick added: “We have to stop pussy-footing around Islamist extremists and violent offenders in jails.
“That means arming specialist prison officer teams with tasers and stun grenades, as well as giving them access to lethal weapons in exceptional circumstances.
“If prison governors can’t easily keep terrorist influencers and radicalising inmates apart from the mainstream prisoners they target, then we don’t control our prisons – they do. We must take back control and restore order by giving officers the powers and protection they need.”
Mr Acheson said: “Too often what goes wrong behind the walls of our high security jails passes unnoticed, as does the bravery of the men and women in uniform who deal every day with terrorists and other highly dangerous offenders.
“Robert Jenrick is right – the threat to officer safety is now intolerable and must be met decisively by the government.
“The balance inside too many of our prisons has shifted away from control by the state to mere containment and the price is soaring levels of staff assaults and wrecked rehabilitation. Broken officers can’t help fix broken people – or protect the public from violent extremism.”
A Ministry of Justice source said: “The government considers the introduction of lethal weapons into prisons would put prison officers at greater risk.”
They added: “The last government added just 500 cells to our prison estate, and left our jails in total crisis. In 14 years, they closed 1,600 cells in the high-security estate, staff assaults soared, and experienced officers left in droves. Now the arsonists are pretending to be firefighters.
“This government is cleaning up the mess the last government left behind. We are building new prisons, with 2,400 new cells opened since we took office. And we take a zero-tolerance approach to violence and extremism inside.”
Politics
Scottish Labour win Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election as SNP suffer shock defeat
Scottish Labour’s Davy Russell has won the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.
Mr Russell took top spot with 8,559 votes. The SNP placed second with 7,957 votes, with Reform UK closely taking third with 7,088 votes.
The new MSP said he was “proud” to have been elected, adding: “I said in this campaign that I will put this community, our community first.
“I will work every single day to do that.”
The Scottish Labour team celebrating the win. Pic: PA
The by-election was called following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie.
The Scottish government minister died in March at the age of 57, having last year taken medical leave to undergo treatment for secondary breast cancer.
South Lanarkshire councillor Katy Loudon had hoped to retain the Holyrood seat for the SNP, given her party’s heavy losses to Labour at last year’s UK general election.
First Minister John Swinney congratulated Mr Russell following the result.
In a post on X, the SNP leader said Ms Loudon had “fought a superb SNP campaign”.
He added: “We have made progress since the election last year but not enough. We still have work to do and we will do it.”
All eyes were also on Reform UK and whether it would enjoy a “tartan bounce” in light of the party’s recent slew of local election wins in England.
With Reform UK never having won an election in Scotland, party deputy leader Richard Tice said candidate Ross Lambie coming in third was a “massive boost for us”.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice turned up to the count to support candidate Ross Lambie. Pic: PA
He added: “It’s a fantastic result, just a few hundred votes away from the SNP, nobody predicted that.
“I think that sets us up with excitement and momentum for the next 11 months into the Holyrood elections.”
Davy Russell celebrating with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and the party’s deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie. Pic: PA
Mr Russell said the constituents had voted to “take a new direction” with his party.
He added: “Like the people here in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, and right across Scotland, we all feel we have been let down by the SNP.
“They’ve broken our NHS, wasted our money, and after nearly two decades they don’t deserve another chance.”
Mr Sarwar and Mr Russell on the campaign trail. Pic: PA
Mr Russell said the community had also “sent a message” to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage “and his mob tonight”.
He added: “The poison of Reform isn’t us, it isn’t Scotland, and we don’t want your division here.
“Reform have no real answers to the issues we face, and they can’t beat the SNP here or replace them across Scotland.”
Mr Russell said his party was ready to “fix” the NHS and “end the SNP’s addiction to wasting your money”.
He added: “The road to a new direction for Scotland in 2026 – with Anas Sarwar as first minister and a Scottish Labour government – begins right here. So, let’s go and win it together.”
By-election Scottish Conservative candidate Richard Nelson (left) and Reform UK candidate Ross Lambie. Pic: PA
Ten candidates went head-to-head in the Holyrood by-election:
• Collette Bradley, Scottish Socialist Party – 278 votes
• Andy Brady, Scottish Family Party – 219 votes
• Ross Lambie, Reform UK – 7,088 votes
• Katy Loudon, Scottish National Party (SNP) – 7,957 votes
• Janice MacKay, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – 50 votes
• Ann McGuinness, Scottish Green Party – 695 votes
• Aisha Mir, Scottish Liberal Democrats – 533 votes
• Richard Nelson, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party – 1,621 votes
• Davy Russell, Scottish Labour Party – 8,559 votes
• Marc Wilkinson, Independent – 109 votes
The votes were verified and manually counted at South Lanarkshire Council headquarters in Hamilton.
Dame Jackie got emotional after Mr Russell’s win. Pic: PA
Campaigning became heated in the run up to the by-election, with Reform UK accused of running a “racist” ad on Facebook against Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
Reform leader Mr Farage continued to double down, accusing his rival of “sectarian politics”.
Read more from Sky News:
‘Farage could become PM – this is how Labour can stop him’
Prisoners to be transferred to lower security jails
In response, the Scottish Labour MSP branded Mr Farage a “poisonous little man” and accused him of running a “campaign of dirt and smear”.
First Minister Mr Swinney had earlier warned it was a “two-horse race” between the SNP and Reform UK, urging voters to “defeat the gutter politics” of Mr Farage.
With less than a year to go before the Scottish parliament election, the result potentially offers a snapshot of how the political landscape north of the border could look in 2026.
Mr Sarwar said: “I think people need to change the script, because we’ve proven the pollsters wrong.
“We’ve proven the commentators wrong, we’ve proven the bookies wrong. We’ve proven John Swinney wrong and so many others wrong too.”
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