Government issues new body armour to prison officers to improve morale after three injured by Manchester bomber

The new kit has been issued in response to three officers being seriously injured in April when Manchester bomber Hashem Abedi threw boiling oil and stabbed them.

Morale of the 23,000-plus prison officers in England and Wales, including the hundreds working on the HMP Featherstone estate north of Wolverhampton, which includes HMP Brinsford and Oakwood, took a serious hit after the assault at HMP Frankland in Durham.

Following the horrific attack the Prison Service commissioned a snap review into whether protective body armour, also known as stab-proof vests, should be rolled out to staff.

The Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood MP has now confirmed new protective vests will be made mandatory for prison officers working in Close Supervision Centres and Separation Centres. 

Officers will then be quizzed about how useful the stab vests are before a decision is made to give them to every prison officer. 

The Lord Chancellor said: "I know this House shares my anger at recent attacks against prison officers. After the awful events at HMP Frankland, I commissioned a review of the use of protective body armour.

"I can announce I will mandate its use in Close Supervision Centres, Separation Centres, and Segregation Units in the High Security Estate."

She added: "When Jonathan Hall’s independent review into the Frankland attack reports, I will take any further steps necessary to protect our brave staff."

However, former prison officer Claire Lewis, who was stabbed by an inmate ten years ago, is leading a campaign for all officers to be given access to the body armour.

She said: "All I want is to make a difference, and to protect the hardworking prison officers who are, as I have always said, the forgotten service.

“Because if this isn’t implemented sooner rather than later, there will be serious consequences.”

The Government announcement followed extensive engagement with frontline staff, trade unions and uniformed services like the police who already use protective body armour.

Some staff raised concerns about armour being rolled out more widely in prisons, in particular that it could be too heavy and restrictive for everyday use. It was also noted that officers already have equipment available to them to help reduce the risk of assaults including body worn video cameras, batons, PAVA spray and handcuffs.

The review concluded that more evidence is needed before rolling out vests to all prison officers.