Only last week, a highly regarded criminal barrister, Tony Wyatt, disclosed that he was being told by his clients that Frankland was in the control of Islamist gangs. It is alleged that some prisoners who have refused to convert have had to be compulsorily segregated for their own protection, although the Ministry of Justice has denied this.
It seems clear that Frankland is an institution where there has been a catastrophic breakdown in security that cannot be allowed to be brushed under the carpet.
Yesterday’s assailant allegedly had access to boiling oil and improvised weapons. This should have been one of the most surveilled and secure pieces of real estate in western Europe. In July of last year, a police officer was stabbed in the chest by a prisoner inside Frankland. These places are difficult and dangerous to run but incidents like these suggest that security has fallen apart.