Slashed Throats, Broken Bones, Boiling Water: Inside 24 Hours of Chaos in UK Prisons

Three UK prison officers injured in 24 hours, including one slashed in the neck at HMP Woodhill. Violence in jails spirals out of control.

A prison officer had his throat slashed at HMP Woodhill on Tuesday in one of three serious attacks on staff across Britain’s high-security prisons in a single day. The officer, a specialist response unit member, was left with deep wounds to his neck and ear after being attacked with an improvised weapon.

The assault happened after the inmate was told to return to his cell. The officer was rushed to hospital, where he received stitches and surgical glue before being discharged later the same day.

In a separate incident at the same jail, another officer was injured by a prisoner detained under the Counter-Terrorism Act. In total, four officers at Woodhill were treated in hospital.

Read more: Axel Rudakubana: Prison Guard Attacked with Boiling Water

Elsewhere, at Gartree Prison in Leicestershire, staff responded to what they believed was a medical emergency when a prisoner appeared to be suffering an epileptic fit. As they attempted to assist, a male officer was assaulted and had a television thrown at him. A female officer was also seriously injured in the attack, sustaining a broken arm.

These three attacks came just days after a guard at HMP Belmarsh was ambushed by Southport killer Axel Rudakubana, who allegedly threw boiling water over him. Last month, Hashem Abedi — the Manchester Arena bomber — threw hot oil over three guards at the same prison.

In April, convicted killer John Mansfield was murdered inside HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire.

Responding to the growing violence, Steve Gillan, General Secretary of the Prison Officers Association, warned: “Escalating levels of violence are out of control in the prison service in England and Wales. It is clear prison regimes must be reviewed as a matter of urgency.”

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The Ministry of Justice said protective body armour and tasers are now being considered for frontline staff. Thames Valley Police confirmed it is investigating the alleged assaults at Woodhill.