Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi to go on trial accused of two prison guard attacks

Artist's impression of Hashem Abedi on his last court appearance on a videolink from Frankland Prison in County Durham

Hashem Abedi, who is already serving 24 life sentences for his part in the murder of 22 people at the Manchester Arena, is to go on trial again.

The 24 year old is accused of attacking two prison guards at the maximum security Belmarsh jail in May 2020.

Belmarsh maximum security prison in London

He is serving a minimum of 55 years at Frankland prison in Durham for conspiring with his brother Salman Abedi to blow up the Manchester Arena in 2017, leaving 22 people dead.

Salman Abedi (left), the suicide bomber who killed 22 people, and his brother Hashem

But today he refused to appear via videolink to Woolwich Crown Court, where a trial date of 6 December was set for him and two other defendants.

Ahmed Hassan, the 21 year old who planted a device that injured 51 passengers on the London underground in 2017 is one of those defendants.

Ahmed Hassan is accused along with Hashem Abedi

The pair, alongside 23-year-old Muhammed Saeed, are charged with assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH) to prison officer Paul Edwards.

An earlier hearing was told Mr Edwards received cuts to his head and bruising, and was also kicked, when the three men assaulted him as he sat at an office desk, and has ongoing hearing problems as a result of the alleged attack.

At the end of the hearing, the judge asked Hassan, who appeared by video link from HMP Frankland: "Is there anything you wish to say today, or ask about the proceedings?"

Hassan, who was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 34 years in 2018, replied: "Yes. I hate you very much, you are an evil man."