Terror police called in after prison warder was held hostage by three Muslim inmates



Warder was held hostage in office by prisoners brandishing 'sharp object'



Was 'locked in a cleaning room and beaten senseless in four-hour siege'



Captive told he was 'going to die and have toilet cleaner poured in his eyes'

Freed by prison's riot squad and taken to hospital with serious injuries

Attack raises concerns about spread of radical Islam in Britain's prisons

Investigation has been taken over by North East Counter Terrorism Unit

Prisons have been warned to look out for copycat attacks



Prisons have been put on alert for copycat attacks after a warden was beaten and held hostage by Muslim prisoners in a high-security jail.

It is thought the prisoners behind the attack were inspired by the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich last week.

The prison officer was threatened with a makeshift blade and held captive in an office for four hours at Full Sutton jail in East Yorkshire on Sunday night.

Victim: Drummer Lee Rigby (pictured) was hacked to death by Muslim fanatics near Woolwich Barracks in south-east London last week

Full Sutton is a maximum-security prison which holds some of the most dangerous inmates in the country, including dozens of terrorists.

The hostage takers are understood not to have been convicted of terror-related offences, but officials confirmed they were Muslim – raising the possibility they were radicalised behind bars.

Michael Spurr, chief executive of the National Offender Management Service, said: ‘At 4.25pm on Sunday, a prison officer was forcibly taken hostage by three prisoners at HMP Full Sutton. None were serving a sentence for terror-related offences.

‘A second officer immediately attempted to come to her colleague’s aid and was injured as a result, receiving cuts to her arm.

‘The incident concluded at 8.40pm after specially trained prison staff intervened to release the officer.

‘The officer taken hostage suffered a broken cheekbone and a number of wounds to his face and neck at the beginning of the incident. Both members were treated in hospital for their injuries.’



Attack: Drummer Rigby was killed on the street in Woolwich, south London when Michael Adebolajo launched his attack Both officers are understood to have been released from hospital. Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said: ‘Until the full facts of the incident are known, we do not wish to speculate or indeed compromise an ongoing police investigation. ‘We can confirm that officers sustained injuries and, had it not been for the professionalism of prison officers dealing with this violent incident, the outcome could have been worse.’ The most recent inspection report into the prison highlighted tensions between Muslim inmates and other prisoners. More than a fifth of inmates are Muslims.

Cold-blooded: Michael Adebowale, 22, of Greenwich, south-east London, with a knife in his hand after he had hacked Lee Rigby to death



