Manchester Arena plotter Hashem Abedi is due to appear in court charged with three counts of attempted murder after four prison officers were injured at a maximum security prison.

The 28-year-old is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

He also faces one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and one count of unauthorised possession of a knife or offensive weapon, after the incident at HMP Frankland in Co Durham on April 12.

Three prison officers were taken to hospital with serious injuries following an incident.

The 28-year-old is alleged to have melted down sachets of butter to hurl boiling fat at a female officer before allegedly stabbing two male colleagues with improvised blades fashioned from cooking trays.

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