Manchester Arena attack plotter Hashem Abedi 'refusing' de-radicalisation

The terrorist who plotted the Manchester Arena bomb attack that killed 22 people is refusing to take part in any de-radicalisation programmes in prison, a documentary has claimed.

Hashem Abedi is imprisoned at HMP Frankland near Durham, and is one of a number of high-profile criminals locked up for terrorism offences at the facility, ITV reported.

Within HMP Frankland there is separation centre - one of only two in the country - where those with the most extreme views are kept in isolation in an attempt to stop them radicalising other inmates.

Abedi is understood to be one of five men being kept in this wing, where he is rejecting any attempt to rehabilitate him, according to ITV.

However, the broadcaster claims it observed Abedi on CCTV security footage socialising with a former Taliban fighter jailed for plotting terror attacks in the UK.

Richard Vipond, a probation officer and prisoner offender manager, who is one of the members of staff monitoring and engaging prisoners in anti-terrorism programmes, told ITV: "One particular person I was working with, we opened his cell door and he said, 'I’m not going talk to you, you’re an enemy of Islam, you’re an Islamophobe, you're my enemy'.

"There are some people that are so entrenched in their views, in their ideologies and their beliefs that we just become a holding centre for them."

Neither the prison nor the Ministry of Justice revealed who the five men on the "prison within a prison" were, but there are 25 Terrorism Act (TACT) prisoners at HMP Frankland.

While locked in their cells, the separation centre prisoners talk to one another by shouting through open windows. Cameras captured one of these conversations, as they spoke Arabic and discussed listening to the radio and taking naps.

ITV was also granted access to HMP Full Sutton near York, and between the two prisons they hold some of Britain's most infamous criminals.

Ian Huntley, the Soham murderer; Levi Bellfield, Milly Dowler’s killer; and – until his recent death – the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe are understood to be held there.

Thomas Mair - murderer of MP Jo Cox - and the Parsons Green bomber Ahmed Hassan are also on the list of terrorist inmates at the two prisons, alongside Abedi.

Emma Fullard, a counter-terrorism analyst who works within the department, told ITV: "It is very intense at times, sometimes it's hard not to take it home.

"Some of the TACT offenders we monitor are quite high profile so you're leaving work to go home and see them all over the news.

"So we’re doing our best to make sure nothing can happen to the staff inside or so that they can’t plan anything on the outside either."

Darren Finley, the governor at HMP Frankland, believes that his officers must keep trying to rehabilitate and de-radicalise prisoners, despite it being a system the criminals have set themselves against.

"The management of those offenders is disproportionate to resource, and there's a lot of resource being put into the safe management and risk management of them," he said.

"Those individuals came to prison for a specific reason and most will be released back into the community at some point."

A Prison Service spokesman said: "Our approach to managing extremists in prison is recognised internationally and involves a range of tools, including tailored interventions.

"Some of our most subversive prisoners are placed in separation centres, away from the general population, so that they do not radicalise others.

"We have trained nearly 40,000 officers to spot the signs of extremism, and increased the number of specialist counter-terrorism staff.

"We have also ended the automatic early release of terrorists, and our new laws mean they will face tougher sentences and monitoring on release."