Police are investigating an alleged attack on a prison officer by Southport killer Axel Rudakubana at HMP Belmarsh. The alleged incident took place on Thursday, where Rudakubana, 18, is said to have boiled a kettle in his cell before pouring the boiling water on a prison officer. The officer was taken to hospital shortly after the incident and was fortunately discharged on the same day. The officer is expected to return to their duties next week.

A spokesperson for the Prison Service said: “Police are investigating an attack on a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh. Violence in prison will not be tolerated and we will always push for the strongest possible punishment for attacks on our hard-working staff.” In January, Rudakubana was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in prison for the murders of three young girls, Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7.

His charges also include the attempted murder of eight other children, dance teacher Leanne Lucas, and businessman John Hayes. Rudakubana targeted a Taylor Swift-themed event in Southport on 29 July 2024, taking the lives of three children and injuring 10 other individuals. He was charged with further offences, including possessing a knife, possessing terrorist material, and producing ricin, a deadly poison.

The 18-year-old's prison guard attack comes just a month after Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi attacked three prison officers at HMP Frankland. Abedi attacked the officers by throwing hot oil and stabbing them with "homemade weapons". The UK has seen a rise in attacks on staff in prisons, with the number of attacks reaching its highest level in a decade, according to data from the Ministry of Justice. Many are asking whether more can be done to keep prison staff safe, suggesting tighter restrictions in prisons.