HATE preacher Anjem Choudary is suspected of inspiring the attack on three prison officers by Manchester Arena terrorist Hashem Abedi.
was shipped out of the jail where he was held with Abedi, 28, in a unit called a “prison within a prison”; for jihadist fanatics.
investigating the attempted murders of the prison staff are set to question Choudary over the background to the incident, sources said.
officers believe Choudary — described as the ‘Daddy’ of the separation unit — may have encouraged to carry out the attack at , near Durham, on Saturday.
It is understood security intelligence reports by officers had previously identified the potential malign influence of Choudary on other inmates in the closed-off unit.
The notorious terror guru, serving life with a minimum of 28 years for masterminding a , was in the gym at the time of the attack with two other cons, sources said.
It meant there were fewer staff available when Abedi launched his assault just before lunchtime.
, serving a record 55-year minimum tariff for assisting his brother which killed 22 others, emerged from a kitchen area brandishing a pan of boiling butter and two makeshift blades.
A female officer had the butter thrown in her face and two male colleagues suffered serious stab wounds.
Both male victims remain in hospital while their female colleague was discharged following treatment for third-degree burns.
Ex-prison governor Ian Acheson, who carried out a review of nine years ago, says Abedi should be kept in total isolation for the protection of staff even if it “turns him mad”;,
Investigators will now be examining claims made by prison officers about Choudary’s influence at the separation unit.
All prisoners on the unit have been transferred to other jails and will be questioned separately.
A source said: “Choudary had become a leader of the unit and the younger extremists like Abedi looked up to him.
“There are suspicions that Abedi colluded with others.”;
declined to discuss Choudary’s potential involvement.
