Ministers have vetoed plans to ban Friday prayers for Muslim prisoners that are being “abused and misused” by extremists.
The proposal would have meant Muslim inmates having to worship in their cells but officials feared that this would fuel discontent and extremism within the wider jail population.
A tougher approach towards troublemakers at Friday prayers and other communal faith worship is one of three recommendations in a review of Islamist extremism that have been rejected by the Ministry of Justice.
Ian Acheson, a former prison governor, made the recommendation in the report, of which only an 18-page summary has been published.
Prison governors are responsible for ensuring acts of worship are peaceful and have the power to ban troublemakers.
The Ministry of Justice said: “We
