An extremist Muslim convert serving a life sentence after stabbing an officer in a high-security prison mocked his sentence and posted jokes about it on Facebook, despite the ban on social media.
Baz Hockton was one of two terrorists who ‘savagely’ attacked an officer with makeshift ‘shanks’ while wearing fake suicide belts and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ at HMP Whitemoor, Cambridgeshire, on January 9 last year.
Already serving a 12-year sentence for a separate stabbing attack, Hockton was radicalised in prison after befriending Brusthom Ziamani – a convicted terrorist who planned to behead a soldier in 2014 inspired by the murder of Lee Rigby.
Hockton was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2020, but has been posting on Facebook mocking his prison sentence from inside HMP Strangeways in Manchester, despite a ban on phones and internet access, The Sunday Telegraph reports.
In one post, he said ‘Strangeway living 2021’ along with a picture of him bearded and smiling with a shaven-headed in a tracksuit top and bottoms.
Baz Hockton was sentenced to a life term for stabbing an HMP Whitemoor prison officer last year.
A CCTV image of the aftermath of the attack on a prison officer at HMP Whitemoor in January last year
This post was retweeted with comments such as “you look like an terrorist Baz,” and “Get a shave mun!” [sic]”” and “Bazzie you look well Boom Boomxxx.”
Hockton, Ziamani luring Prison Officer Neil Trundle to a cabinet space that was not allowed to be used by prisoners at HMP Whitemoor. They asked him to retrieve a spoon and then attacked him with makeshift weapons.
During the search of their cells after the murder attempt, both inmates were discovered to be in possession Islamic extremist writings.
Hockton also had material taken from his cell, indicating that he wanted to be a martyr.
A Facebook post boasted of his plans to leave prison weeks before the attempted murder.
It stated: “2026 Soon home.” Whitemoor Living.
The posts aside, the Facebook account he created was still online last week.
A message said, “Inbox me with all your details so I can send you some Xmas money bro.”
Former prison governor Ian Acheson and former Government adviser on extremism within prisons said that “Here’s another instance of a state institution being embarrassed by not being able notice what purports be a terrorist offender. He almost killed a prisoner, but was able to work online.”
“If he can operate a telephone, then it’s another system failure.
The exterior of HMP Whitemoor High-security Jail in Cambridgeshire. Home to many of Britain’s most dangerous offenders
“This was one of Britain’s most famous and dangerous criminals who nearly committed the first murder of a British prison officer.
“How can they allow him to access a Facebook page?” Why is it that a site like Facebook allows him to brazenly brag about his accomplishments?
Facebook has been deleted.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company said that it had taken the account off its servers. The Ministry of Justice has a process in place that will allow us to remove any prisoner accounts.
The platform is now subject to rules that prohibit terrorists or hate groups from accessing it, according to a statement.
The site was not available for comment after Hockton was convicted of terror attacks.
Hockton received a life sentence, with a minimum of 23 years. This was after Hockton’s judge deemed that he had been ‘inspired by extremist beliefs’ as well as a “terrorist connection”.
The Ministry of Justice said anyone found with a phone in prison faced extra time behind bars and it was spending £100 million on extra security measures including x-ray body scanners and phone blocking technology at 74 male prisons.