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.

Abedi, with Ahmed Hassan and Muhammed Saeed, all denied assault causing actual bodily harm, following an attack on prison officer Paul Edwards in May 2020.

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

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.

Despite denying any role in the Manchester Arena attack, Abedi has since admitted his involvement in a series of boasts to lawyers that are said to amount to pro-Islamic State propaganda. He is serving life with a record minimum term of 55 years after being found jointly responsible for murdering the 22 victims

Ahmed Hassan is serving life for attempting to murder travellers in the bombing of a London Underground train near Parsons Green station in September 2017. Muhammed Saeed admitted five terror offences in June 2020, namely possessing instructions for making bombs and carrying out attacks.

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.