Claire Lewis was the victim of a horrific assault in the high-security Frankland jail, Durham 16 years ago. She has campaigned to protect all prison staff across the UK.
The brave prison officer seriously hurt in a savage jail attack took her crusade to protect her former colleagues all the way to Parliament on Thursday.
Claire Lewis was the victim of a horrific assault in the high-security Frankland jail, Durham 16 years ago. The mother of two suffered severe PTSD and retired due to the severity of her injuries.
But she campaigned to protect all prison staff across the UK. The Mirror told how she launched a petition last year after terrorist Hashem Abedi was arrested in Frankland over another alleged attack on staff.
READ MORE: Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp breaks silence on Mo Salah exitREAD MORE: Katie Piper’s monster ex who arranged acid attack refused parole
The Government has now pledged to supply 10,000 officers with protective body armour, and hundreds of frontline staff with Tasers. But Claire, 50, of Washington, Tyne and Wear, believes every single one of our 23,000 prison officers should have protection – a topic debated in Parliament for the first time yesterday.
She said: “It should be rolled out because what happened to me could happen to anyone working in the prison estate. The protection must be fit for purpose. It is vital.”
The move was backed by her local Labour MP Sharon Hodgson and supported by former Conservative Minister Sir Julian Lewis, who raised it in the Parliament.
Sir Julian said after the Westminster Hall debate: “It went very well. The introduction of mandatory anti stab vests won support from parties across the political spectrum. We need to provide it for every member of prison staff now.”
Sir Julian added that MPs taking part in the debate had paid tribute to Claire’s invaluable work in raising the issue. Around £15million is being invested in staff protection.
Claire warned that an earlier plan to give anti-stab vests only to staff in supervision centres and high security segregation units did not go far enough. Manchester arena bomber Abedi’s alleged assault in Frankland’s separation unit left officers with injuries including a severed artery in the neck, third-degree burns, and a punctured lung. He has since been moved.
The incident led to calls for prison officers to carry Taser guns like police officers, who received anti-stab vests in 1994. Claire, attacked in 2010, has thanked 32,500 members of the public who backed her call for protective vests for all prison staff on Change.org.
Claire pointed out that traffic wardens and nightclub bouncers now wear the £250 vests in some areas. Kevan Thakrar, who is serving three life sentences for killing three men with a machine gun over a £10,000 drug debt, attacked her. He was cleared of attempting to murder Claire after a three-and-a-half-week trial in November, 2011. Claire’s husband Ged Mulheran, 57, a former police officer, warned that the stab vests supplied to staff must offer proper protection.
“If we are going to do this, we want to do it properly,” he added. “We must ensure that the provision does not necessarily come from existing contracts.”
The Prison Officers Association demands that staff be equipped with stab vests and Tasers at all times. After a spate of recent attacks, they warned that staff “haven’t got the equipment they need and more are getting diagnosed with PTSD.”
The Ministry of Justice said: “The safety of our hard-working staff is our top priority, which is why we are increasing the use of mandatory body armour across the estate. It’s part of broader action we’re taking to boost safety, including more dog teams and better physical security measures.”
