Hashem Abedi, 28, inflicted "life-threatening" injuries on the officers at HMP Frankland in County Durham on Saturday. He is being held at the jail for his role in the deadly bombings eight years ago and his latest attack has outraged many, including former prison governor Ian Acheson. Mr Acheson, who carried out a review of Islamist extremism in jails in 2016, called Abedi "the second most dangerous prisoner in the UK" and claimed he should be left in total isolation because "we don’t have the death penalty". "The only other alternative is extreme custody - if it turns him mad then so be it," he told the Times.

CEP Strategic Advisor Liam Duffy: "It’s a question both implicit and explicit in much of the coverage since the night of 22nd May 2017. It’s a question explored by Sir John Saunders in his Manchester Arena bombing inquiry, published yesterday. The conventional answer is that suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, was radicalised. But what if he wasn’t radicalised – at least not in the way we understand?"

"Research by the Counter Extremism Project found that police sources had been told that the Abedis had to have known that Hashem and Salman were becoming more radical. After the attack, a mutual friend said the pair had discussed and expressed support for Isis."