Michael McKenna, 25, is accused of attacking 23-year-old member of staff with a razor

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A prisoner has been charged with grievous bodily harm after an officer had his throat cut.

Michael McKenna is accused of attacking a 23-year-old member of staff at HMP Nottingham on Sunday. The 25-year-old was charged with grievous bodily harm, attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm and a racially aggravated public order offence.

McKenna was due to appear at Nottingham magistrates court on Monday, Nottinghamshire police said.

Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the POA, the union for prison workers, said the officer, who was new to the job and still in his probationary period, needed 17 stitches after allegedly being attacked with a razor. He has since been released from hospital.

An inspection report published last year found levels of violence at the prison were “very high”, with 103 assaults on staff in the previous six months. Over the same period, there had been 198 incidents where prisoners had climbed on to safety netting between landings.

HMP Nottingham is a category B male prison. It was expanded in 2010 to accommodate 1,060 prisoners.