The Conservative Party has suggested that some prison officers should be equipped with firearms to address the issue of “out of control” Islamist gangs and violent prisoners within the jail system. In a statement, the shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, advocated for specialist teams to be armed with Tasers, stun grenades, and lethal weapons in certain circumstances. He also demanded that high-collar stab vests be made available for frontline officers in response to recent attacks by inmates.
Jenrick has commissioned a rapid review by a former prison governor, Ian Acheson, and stated that a failure to act could result in prison officers being kidnapped or murdered or even a terrorist attack orchestrated from within the prison walls. Current measures in prisons include officers’ access to batons and Pava spray in men’s public sector prisons. The Minister of Justice, Shabana Mahmood, has directed a swift evaluation of whether stab vests should become more standard, and starting this summer, a trial will equip specialized officers handling serious incidents with Tasers.
For context, notorious inmates like the Manchester Arena plotter, Hashem Abedi, and the Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, have carried out aggressive acts against prison personnel in recent times. The Conservative government has announced plans to build new prisons, having opened 2,400 new cells since taking office, and they assert a strict stance against violence and extremism in jails. They emphasize that this is a response to the perceived inadequacies of the previous government, which they claim left prisons in a state of crisis after closing dozens of high-security cells and seeing an increase in assaults against staff, leading to a flight of experienced officers.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/01/arm-prison-officers-against-violent-and-terrorist-inmates-says-tories-jenrick
