London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Convicted bombers guilty of attacking prison officer

Convicted bombers guilty of attacking prison officer

Three convicted terrorists, including Hashem Abedi who is serving life for 22 murders in the Manchester Arena bombing, have been found guilty of a "vicious attack" on a prison officer.

Paul Edwards, 57, was attacked in his office in the high security unit of Belmarsh Prison in May 2020.

Abedi, with Ahmed Hassan and Muhammed Saeed, all denied assault causing actual bodily harm.

All three have been found guilty after a trial at Woolwich Crown Court.

Abedi was convicted of assaulting a second prison officer who rushed to help his colleague.

He received a sentence of three years and 10 months imprisonment, which will be added to the record 55 year minimum term he is already serving.

Hassan and Saeed were sentenced to three years' imprisonment, to be served consecutively to their existing jail terms

The court heard that Abedi, 24, started the assault on Mr Edwards, along with Muhammed Saeed, 23, who had talked about carrying out a knife attack at London's Speaker's Corner.

They were quickly joined by Ahmed Hassan, 22, serving life for the Tube bombing at Parsons Green underground station.

'Karate kick'


All three were being held in Spur 4 of Belmarsh's high security unit which at the time had only 10 inmates.

Just after 15:00 on 11 May 2020, as the men were being escorted back from the exercise yard, CCTV cameras recorded them smiling and joking as they reached the top of the stairs, then running off to carry out the attack.

Paul Edwards described sitting at his desk in his office when Abedi and Saeed burst in.

Saeed launched a "karate kick" at his head as Abedi swung an office chair at him, he said.

He fell to the floor where Abedi and Saeed started kicking and punching him, and were joined by Hassan.

Bombers Hashem Abedi (left) and Ahmed Hassan took part in the attack on officer Paul Edwards


"I feared for my life... and I genuinely thought that if I hadn't fought back I could end up with at least extreme injuries, or dead," he said.

He said it felt like a lifetime before other prison officers came to help him, even though it was only a few seconds.

CCTV seen by the jury, but not released to the media, showed Mr Edwards with blood on his head and shirt after the assault.

As well as lacerations to his scalp, he had a bruised back and rib cage, and has suffered lasting damage to his hearing. His wife, who also works at HMP Belmarsh, took him to hospital.

Fellow prison officer Nick Barnett, who suffered a bruised shin during the fight, said there was "utter chaos" in the office where the assault took place.

"It was just like a pack of animals on Mr Edwards," he said.

"It was just a vicious attack where they were literally all over him."

Apart from the office chair, no weapons were involved in the attack, and the prisoners had been through a metal detector as they came back from exercise.

Aftermath of where the attack took place


In a meeting that morning Hashem Abedi had complained to the governor in charge of the unit that Muslim prisoners received different treatment to non-Muslim ones.

The trial heard that Abedi had orchestrated a series of identical complaints from prisoners on his wing, but he denied being their "leader".

He and Hassan had been moved from the standard privileges regime to basic because they had shaved their heads, changing their appearance without permission.

This meant loss of access to televisions and games consoles and a shorter exercise period.

Paul Edwards was the officer who made this decision.

The three prisoners who assaulted him were earlier involved in a fight on 1 March 2020. At the time, Abedi was on trial for murdering the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena attack.

At his first court appearance in the assault case last year, when asked whether he pleaded guilty or not guilty, Abedi said: "I did assault that filthy pig, but I don't see any wrongdoing."

During the assault trial, Abedi represented himself, meaning he was allowed to question witnesses in court and give a defence closing speech. He did not give evidence, nor did his co-defendants.

Abedi was not allowed to question the two prison officers he had assaulted and was forbidden from using his speech to talk about other issues.

Boasts to lawyers


Despite denying any role in the Manchester Arena attack, Hashem Abedi has since admitted his involvement in a series of boasts to lawyers that are said to amount to pro-Islamic State propaganda.

The BBC has asked the Ministry of Justice why two convicted bombers and a man who aspired to carry out a terror attack were held on the same spur of the same high security unit, and were able to plan their assault on a prison officer.

The three are:

*  Hashem Abedi, whose brother Salman Abedi carried out the Manchester Arena suicide attack, is serving life with a record minimum term of 55 years after being found jointly responsible for murdering the 22 victims

*  Ahmed Hassan, serving life for attempting to murder travellers in the bombing of a London Underground train near Parsons Green station in September 2017

*  Muhammed Saeed, who admitted five terror offences in June 2020, namely possessing instructions for making bombs and carrying out attacks

Court documents show that, in chat groups infiltrated by an undercover officer, Saeed praised "Jihadi John" and wrote: "There's people in Speaker's Corner who mock the Messenger of Allah Wallahi. We have a duty to kill them."

He said he would use a kitchen knife with a fixed blade and had, in another online conversation, discussed using a van for an attack.

The May 2020 Belmarsh assault came months after an inmate of the same unit had carried out a terror attack in Streatham, south London, days after his release, and two prisoners had carried out a terror attack on a prison officer in HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire.

The Ministry of Justice said it took assaults on its staff very seriously and was giving prison officers "body-worn cameras, police-style restraints" and synthetic pepper spray (PAVA) "to allow them to do their jobs more safely".

"We will never tolerate such appalling attacks against hard-working staff and will always push for the strongest possible punishment," said prisons minister Victoria Atkins.

Peter Clarke, former chief inspector of prisons and the former senior counter terror officer, and a senior fellow at the think tank Policy Exchange, said the prison system had not adapted well to handling prisoners who were inspired by al-Qaeda and the Islamic State Group.

"What needs to happen is that the people managing these prisoners need to be expert in the particular risks which these prisoners present," he told BBC News.

"It's no good just treating them as other prisoners are treated. There needs to be a unique and tailored approach."


CCTV footage shows the moments before an attack was carried out on a prison officer.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×