Muslim-convert extremist serving 19 years for stabbing prison guard mocks life sentence on FACEBOOK

A Muslim-convert extremist serving a life sentence for stabbing a prison officer at a high security jail mocked and joked about his sentence on Facebook despite a social media and internet ban.

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.

A CCTV image of the aftermath of the attack on a prison officer at HMP Whitemoor in January last year

The post received comments including ‘you look like a terrorist Baz, get a shave mun [sic]’ and ‘Bazzie, you looking well Boom Boom xxx’.   

Hockton and Ziamani lured Prison Officer Neil Trundle into a cupboard space off-limits to prisoners at HMP Whitemoor by asking him to fetch them a spoon before attacking him with makeshift weapons.  

Both inmates were found in possession of Islamic extremist writings when their cells were searched after the brutal murder bid.

Material was also recovered from Hockton’s cell setting out his desire to become a martyr.

Weeks before the attempted murder, an image was uploaded to the Facebook site boasting of how he would be leaving prison.

It said: ‘2026 Soon Home. Whitemoor living.’

Despite the posts, a Facebook site in his name was still live last week. 

A post said: ‘Inbox me all your details and I will send you some Xmas money, bro.’

Professor Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and Government advisor on extremism in prisons, said: ‘Here is another example of state institution being humiliated by failing to notice what purports to be a convicted terrorist offender, who almost killed a prison officer, being able to operate online.

‘If he is able to operate a phone, it is another catastrophic system failure.

The exterior of HMP Whitemoor high-security jail in Cambridgeshire, home to some of Britain’s most dangerous offenders

‘This is one of the most iconic and dangerous offenders who almost carried out the first ever murder of a prison officer in Britain. 

‘How are they allowing him access to a Facebook site? And why is a platform like Facebook allowing him to so brazenly boast about his exploits.’

The Facebook site has now been taken down.

A spokesperson for Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said: ‘We removed the account brought to our attention. We have a well-established process with the Ministry of Justice and will remove inmate accounts being used from prison.’

A statement added it has rules prohibiting terrorists and hate groups from using the platform.

It refused to respond to questions on why the site had remained live through and beyond Hockton’s conviction for the terror attack.

Hockton was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years after a judge said she was satisfied he was ‘inspired by extremist beliefs’ and had 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.