This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

Counter-terrorism police are investigating an attack by two inmates at a maximum-security jail that resulted in five prison officers being taken to hospital.

The two prisoners involved at the incident at HMP Whitemoor near March in Cambridgeshire were wearing fake suicide vests and brandishing improvised bladed weapons, according to reports.

One of the alleged perpetrators of the incident, which took place on Thursday morning as cells were unlocked, is serving a sentence for a terrorism offence while the other had been jailed for a violent offence, the BBC reported.

One officer, thought to be the initial target, was stabbed and slashed, the others had rushed to help. The officers’ injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

The Metropolitan police said their counter-terrorism command unit had been called in to the maximum security prison “due to certain circumstances relating to this incident”.

No arrests had been made so far, the force said.

A Prison Service spokesman said the incident was “quickly resolved by brave staff – and our thoughts are with the injured officers at this time”. He did not state the nature of the officers’ injuries.

The statement added: “We do not tolerate assaults on our hard-working officers and will push for the strongest possible punishment.

“We have referred the incident to the police and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

HMP Whitemoor is a 458-capacity maximum security prison housing more than 400 Category A and B prisoners on three wings, including a number of the highest-risk inmates.

In a statement, the Met said: “Due to certain circumstances relating to this incident, it was deemed appropriate for the investigation to be carried out by officers from the Met police counter-terrorism command.

“However, we must stress that at this early stage of the investigation we are keeping an open mind with regards to any motives, and inquiries to establish the full circumstances of the incident are ongoing.”

In February 2019, a small number of prison staff received medical treatment after violence broke out at the prison.

Usman Khan, who carried out a terrorist attack in London Bridge on 29 November before being shot dead by police, had previously served a sentence at HMP Whitemoor.

In 2015, it emerged that an inmate at Whitemoor was kept in segregation for two and a half years.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for HMP Whitemoor also revealed that it held seven of the 24 prisoners detained in segregation for more than six months across England’s high-security jails.

Inspectors said a staffing “merry-go-round” meant staff at the segregation unit had been inexperienced and their management had been “poor”.

Prison rules enable a governor to arrange for a prisoner to be segregated – kept away from other inmates – for up to 72 hours, before seeking authorisation from the secretary of state.

Inmates can be segregated if they are deemed to be in danger, if they are deemed dangerous to other prisoners, or as punishment for disruptive behaviour.