Prisoner shouted ‘kill all non-believers’ as he stabbed officers with makeshift blade
An inmate stabbed officers at HMP Belmarsh with an improvised weapon as he repeatedly shouted for death to the non-believers, according to a newly released report.
The prisoner is said to have attacked one of the three key workers as he was unlocked for lunch at the maximum security jail and to have ‘immediately started stabbing her head and throat’.
He threw a bin at the officers before lashing out with the sharpened prison utensil, the incident report shows.
The assailant was heard to shout ‘kill all kaffirs, death to all kaffirs’ during the attack, according to the log released after a request under the Freedom of Information Act by Metro.co.uk.
The Islamic word ‘kaffir’ in this context generally means ‘non-believers’.
The stabbed officer, aged in her 20s, was said to have sustained lacerations to the back of her head and superficial cuts to her neck and to have attended hospital. Two colleagues were also injured as they tried to restrain the unnamed offender, who was said to have continued to ‘thrash out’ during the incident on October 23 last year.
The report reads: ‘[Redacted] was unlocked for lunch, threw his bin at staff and grabbed officer [redacted].
‘He immediately started stabbing her head and throat with an improvised weapon (sharpened prison utensil), he hit her and caused lacerations to the back of her head and superficial cuts to her neck.’
The officer’s colleagues then tried to restrain the prisoner in what is described as a ‘serious assault on staff’ in a database of violent incidents at the Category A jail in south east London.
The report continues: ‘Officer [redacted] and officer [redacted] restrained Mr [redacted] and when doing so he continued to thrash out, injuring officer [redacted] (superficial cut to his throat) and officer [redacted] (superficial cut to back of neck). It was believed that he had 2 x improvised weapons but only one was retrieved. When assaulting staff Mr [redacted] said “kill all kaffirs, death to all kaffirs”.’
The attack is among more than 200 violent incidents in the database of assaults at the jail in Thamesmead.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) initially refused to release the list of incidents between November 2021 and October last year before Metro.co.uk appealed to the Information Commissioner’s Office. After the watchdog became involved the MoJ released the document in redacted form.
The reports include acts of serious and potentially life-threatening violence between prisoners and inflicted on officers.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘Police were called at around 12:22hrs on Wednesday, October 23 to a report of an assault on three members of staff at HMP Belmarsh.
‘One of the victims, a woman aged in her 20s, was taken to hospital for treatment. The two male prison officers were treated at the scene.
‘The investigation is ongoing.’
The MoJ maintains that one officer attended hospital for ‘minor injuries’ and did not stay overnight.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘We do not tolerate attacks against our hardworking staff and our £125 million investment in prison security is making their jobs safer. Two prison officers received minor injuries and one was treated in hospital. The police are now investigating and it would be inappropriate to comment further.’
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