Terrorist prisoners should be kept on a military base

The murder of a prison officer on duty is closer now than at any time in the last 25 years. That was the inevitable conclusion I reached after the shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick commissioned me to look into the threat posed by terrorists inside our high-security prisons and the safety of front-line staff in across our chaotic and dysfunctional penal estate. The impetus was a number of atrocious attacks in what ought to be our securest facilities – allegedly carried out by extremists using improvised weapons to maim and murder officers.

Violence against prison staff has evolved from an occasional occupational hazard to an atrocious normality without parallel in public life. The last official data released shows assaults are at record highs. On average 29 officers are hurt every day. By ‘hurt’ we need to be clear – that means they are slashed, stabbed, bitten, scalded, strangled, covered in excrement, punched, spat on and sexually assaulted.