GB News has exclusively revealed that prison staff have been attacked over 10,000 times by Muslim inmates in just four years.

According to Ministry of Justice data obtained by The People's Channel, Muslim prisoners attacked staff 10,437 times between 2020 and 2024.

The figures show that with 15,594 Muslim prisoners currently in England and Wales, attacks by Muslim inmates are more common than from those of any other religion.

The exclusive data comes amid a series of high-profile violent incidents in prisons across the country, prompting questions about staff safety in correctional facilities.

A stock image of a prison guard

Last month, Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi carried out a brutal attack on three prison officers in the separation unit at HMP Frankland.

Abedi threw hot oil at officers and stabbed them with improvised blades. The assault left the officers with life-changing injuries.

In a further escalation, a prison officer had their throat slashed with an improvised weapon at HMP Woodhill, a Category B prison in Milton Keynes.

In a separate incident at the same facility, another officer was attacked by an inmate detained under the Terrorism Act 2008.

The violence extends beyond Woodhill, with the Prison Officers' Association reporting additional serious assaults.

At Gantry Prison, an officer had a television thrown at him in one incident. In another attack at the same facility, a female officer sustained a broken arm after being assaulted by a prisoner who was pretending to have an epileptic fit.

The Prison Officers' Association has repeatedly called for enhanced protection measures for staff working with high-risk prisoners.

Despite these calls, attacks have continued across multiple high-security facilities, raising questions about systemic vulnerabilities in staff protection protocols.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced new measures to address prison overcrowding.

"I can announce that the Treasury will fund our prison expansion plans in full across the spending review period," she stated.

Patrick Christys questioned whether we have a problem in the UK

The plan involves "a total capital investment of £4.7billion" to build three new prisons. This includes "breaking ground on a site near HMP Gayatri later this year," according to the Justice Secretary.

Speaking on GB News about the figures, Patrick Christys said: "Here’s the question: who will be in these three new jails?

"What will she do to protect our brave prison officers?

"And in light of the statistics I’ve just shared, we have to ask do we have a specific problem in Britain with Muslim prisoners?”