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Revealed: How one in five inmates in maximum security prisons is Muslim

1,229 out of the 5,885 prisoners in high-security jails follow the Islamic faith
The figure equates to 20% compared with 5% Muslim population in Britain
At Whitemoor prison, Cambridgeshire, 44% of the 447 inmates are Muslim
Some experts warns jails are ‘ripe’ to become extremist recruiting grounds
By Steph Cockroft for MailOnline
Published: 10:38, 25 January 2016 |

One in five inmates serving sentences in Britain’s maximum security jails are Muslim, figures show.

There are currently 5,885 highly dangerous criminals behind bars in the eight Category A prisons in the UK, of which 1,229 follow the Islamic faith.

The figure equates to 20 per cent of high-security prisoners and, according to figures obtained by The Sun, is an increase of 23 per cent from five years ago.

One in five inmates serving sentences in Britain's maximum security jails are Muslim, figures show. Lee Rigby's killers Michael Adebolajo (pictured) and Michael Adebowale were jailed at Category A prison Belmarsh

Michael Adebowale was also jailed at Category A prison Belmarsh

One in five inmates serving sentences in Britain’s maximum security jails are Muslim, figures show. Lee Rigby’s killers Michael Adebolajo (pictured) and Michael Adebowale were jailed at Category A prison Belmarsh.

The percentage rise has been far greater than the Muslim population increase in the UK, which is currently at five per cent.

At Whitemoor prison in Cambridgeshire, 44 per cent of the 447 inmates are Muslim. It is the highest proportion in any British jail and nearly double the number recorded less than a decade ago.

Among those behind bars at the prison is Zia Al Haq, 36, from Wembley, north London, who was sentenced to 18 years in 2007 after plotting to bomb a London Tube tunnel.

Another terrorist at Whitemoor is Nezar Hindawi, 61, serving 45 years for planting a bomb in his pregnant fiancée’s hand luggage on a flight from Heathrow to Tel Aviv, which could have killed 375.

Meanwhile, Belmarsh prison in south east London currently has 248 Muslim inmates out of 868, which equates to more than 28 per cent.

A number of high-profile terror suspects have passed through the high-security jail, including former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg and Lee Rigby’s killers Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.

Manchester prison is home to 202 Muslims out of the 1,106 prisoners, while 163 out of the 615 inmates at Long Lartin, Worcestershire, are Muslim.

Full Sutton, East Yorkshire, has 137 Muslim prisoners out of 586, while Woodhill in Milton Keynes has 108 out of 707.
At Whitemoor prison in Cambridgeshire (pictured), 44 per cent of the 447 inmates are Muslim. It is the highest proportion in any British jail and nearly double the number recorded less than a decade ago

At Whitemoor prison in Cambridgeshire (pictured), 44 per cent of the 447 inmates are Muslim. It is the highest proportion in any British jail and nearly double the number recorded less than a decade ago.

Frankland prison in County Durham has 97 Muslim prisoners out of 832 while Wakefield, West Yorkshire, has 75 of 724.

Anti-terror think-tank the Quilliam Foundation warned jails were ‘ripe’ to become extremist recruiting grounds.

A series of reports on Whitemoor have also revealed that inmates come under intense pressure to convert to Islam, which is treated by many as a gang or protection racket rather than a religion.

According to watchdog Independent Monitoring Board, Muslims form the ‘biggest power bloc’ and are taking over from the previous ‘gangs’.
Last year, extremist Kamel Bourgass (pictured), serving life for murdering a policeman, won a Supreme Court case after claiming he had been held in solitary confinement for too long at Whitemoor

Last year, extremist Kamel Bourgass (pictured), serving life for murdering a policeman, won a Supreme Court case after claiming he had been held in solitary confinement for too long at Whitemoor

In a report released last year, it said: ‘Against this background we note that some prisoners and staff found the Muslim presence overwhelming.

‘The social and religious fragmentation within Whitemoor potentially posed risks for discipline and hence safety.’

The Prison Officers Association also warned that radicalisation is a growing problem with ‘clear evidence of an Islamic gang culture aimed at young men’.

But Ministry of Justice data shows that between October 2012 and January 2015, there were 104 Muslims out of 178 prisoners who’d been jailed for ‘terrorism-related offences where the motivation stemmed from extreme ideology’.

This is less than 1 per cent of the total Muslim prisoner population.

In 2010, the then Chief Inspector of Prisons, Dame Anne Owers, published a report on Muslims in jails, in which she linked the growth in numbers to the age and socio-economic profiles of the Muslim population in general.

Charity Muslim Aid has previously said that poverty is a key factor driving crime, and therefore imprisonment, among Muslims.

Last year, extremist Kamel Bourgass (pictured), serving life for murdering a policeman, won a Supreme Court case after claiming he had been held in solitary confinement for too long at Whitemoor

Last year, extremist Kamel Bourgass, serving life for murdering a policeman as he went on the run from a ricin factory, won a Supreme Court case after claiming he had been held in solitary confinement for too long at Whitemoor.

He was segregated at the jail, and eventually moved out of it, because he was feared to be involved in ‘an escalation in violence’ at the prison’.

Non-Muslim Whitemoor inmates include Michael Sams, 72, jailed for life in 1993 for murdering Julie Dart, 18, and kidnapping estate agent Stephanie Slater.

Ian Huntley, 40, jailed for 40 years in 2003 for murdering two schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham Cambs, has been an inmate.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman told MailOnline: ‘The Secretary of State has asked the department to review its approach to dealing with Islamist extremism in prisons and probation.

‘This is being supported by external expertise and sits alongside the cross government work currently underway on developing de-radicalisation programmes.’