Axel Rudakubana 'under new Hannibal Lecter-like security after boiling water attack'

Triple murderer Axel Rudakubana is reportedly to be placed under one of the most extreme security regimes in the UK system - compared by insiders to the treatment of fictional Hannibal Lecter - after an alleged .

The 18-year-old, jailed for a minimum of 52 years after in July, was said to have launched a boiling water attack last Thursday on a prison guard at HMP Belmarsh, one of Britain's most secure jails. He now faces a level of confinement described as 'not far off Hannibal Lecter'. "They will treat Rudakubana much more severely. It will not be far off Hannibal Lecter because they will take no chances," a source told .

The teenager will now reportedly be kept almost entirely in his cell, allowed out only briefly to shower or exercise. Every movement will be tightly controlled, requiring a five-officer escort in full PPE, with also potentially used.

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"Rudakubana will only be able to open the latch on his side once the officers have shut the box and closed it on their side. This is a huge deal in UK jails as it is considered it dehumanises inmates," the source added. "He will be let out of his cell only after being searched and escorted by at least five officers, who will be in PPE and could use a dog."

Each time he is moved, the entire prison unit will go into lockdown. Meals will reportedly be passed through a hatch in his door to prevent direct interaction with staff.

There are fears the attack was part of a twisted attempt to gain notoriety, with investigators looking at possible links to Hashem Abedi, the Arena bomber who recently scalded four prison staff at HMP Frankland. "Abedi has just been moved to Belmarsh. The timing is no coincidence," the source said.

Plans are now underway to transfer Rudakubana to another high-security facility, potentially in the North of England or to HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire.

Reacting to the surge in violence behind bars, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "It's a disgrace. There's a crisis in prisons." A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice added: "We take attacks on staff incredibly seriously."

Regarding Rudakubana's security, the MoJ said it "doesn't comment on the security situation of individual prisoners".

Rudakubana’s supervision was downgraded before the alleged attack on a prison officer. The 18-year-old allegedly used a kettle in his cell to heat water up and then poured boiling water over the officer on Thursday.

The prison officer was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure, did not require further treatment and was discharged later that evening.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick posted a video on X in which he said: “Since when did the right of a sick criminal to make a cup of tea come before the safety of a prison officer?

“On Thursday, we’re told, the Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, attacked a prison officer with boiling water. The officer was hospitalised. My thoughts are with him and his family.

“This wasn’t an isolated case. For weeks, I have warned about the safety of prison officers in some of our highest security prisons.

“Just a few weeks ago, one of the terrorists behind the Manchester arena bombing attacked prison officers with a makeshift weapon and boiling oil, which he’d somehow managed to get hold of despite being in a supposed segregation centre in a top security prison.

“Well enough is enough. We must never put the rights of criminals and terrorists above the safety of prison officers. Labour’s Justice Secretary needs to get a grip or else I fear it is only a matter of time before a prison officer loses their life.”

The MOJ told The it "doesn't comment on the security situation of individual prisoners".