Jihadis to be cut off from prison population in ‘separation units’ to battle extremism
BRITAINS worst extremist prisoners will be isolated in new “separation units”, reports reveal.
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The new wings will keep 28 twisted jihadis away from the rest of the prison population in an attempt to stop them spreading their sick ideology.
Prisons Minister Sam Gyimah said: “Extremism must be defeated wherever it is found.
“And I will do what I can to prevent the most dangerous extremists spreading their poisonous ideology in an attempt to influence and convert others.”
The new system is set to be complete by the end of the year keeping the extremists separated from offenders who may be vulnerable to radicalisation.
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Last July the first “separation unit” opened to contain hate preacher Anjem Choudary at Franklin Prison.
Two further units have now been created at HMP Full Sutton and HMP Woodhill, in Yorkshire and Milton Keynes.
The identities of those due to enter the new units have been kept secret by The Ministry of Justice.
Extremism must be defeated wherever it is found
Mr Gyimah told The Sun: “It is right that these offenders are separate from other prisoners so we can limit the chances of them targeting the vulnerable offenders who are risk of being dragged into their warped and repugnant way of thinking.”
The news follows earlier reports that the UK Government was setting up a secret prison to hold terrorists captured abroad.
The unit, which has yet to be used, is at the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC), in Colchester, Essex.
The MCTC is home to around 200 soldiers of all ranks who have been sentenced to periods of detention lasting up to two years.
The “jihadi jail” is hidden in a corner of the Army complex.
It is currently mothballed but ready to be brought into action at a moment’s notice.
Sources told the Daily Star that it can hold around 20 inmates in individual cells and the building is surrounded by 20-foot walls.
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The jail was built to house anyone captured in Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria, who might be brought back to the UK but would not necessarily be subject to British law.
A military source said: “It is a prison within a prison – effectively Britain’s Guantanamo. It is composed of individual cells with toilets and showers and a kitchen.
“For a prison, the standard is very comfortable. A widescreen TV has been fitted to the wall for detainees to watch, there’s a library and video games can be brought in.
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“It is also probably escape-proof. You have to go through a series of security checkpoints to get in. Even if someone did manage to break out they would still be inside a prison.
"If it ever comes into operation, detainees will be guarded by armed soldiers. “It will only ever be used in an emergency. It needs an order signed by the Secretary of State for Defence for it to be made fully operational.”
The prison is run by members of the Military Provost Staff, the Army’s specialists in custody and detention who are responsible for handling anyone captured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
