The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has been urged to investigate a surge in conversions after data revealed one in five Muslims in prisons is white – four times the rate of 5.8 per cent in the general population.
Nick Timothy, the Shadow Justice Secretary, disclosed the startling figures, saying the data highlighted a growing problem.
“The percentage of Muslims who are white in our prisons is so vastly higher than in the general population it raises serious questions.
He told The Telegraph: “The percentage of Muslims who are white in our prisons is so vastly higher than in the general population it raises serious questions.
“We know that experts have warned repeatedly about forced conversions taking place behind bars, driven by Islamic gangs.
“We need to be honest that something is not right here – Labour must urgently investigate and stamp out forced conversions in prison.”
Fears have also been raised over the rise of Muslim gang conversions by the Government’s anti-terror chief Jonathan Hall KC.
As part of the scheme around 5,000 prisoners are expected to be released early in stages from October | PA
Mr Hall said he found evidence of Islamists serving as “self-styled emirs”, controlling prisons through “leadership and recruitment”.
The details, included in his report, noted the recruitment of “vulnerable or lonely prisoners, using guidance, sharing of food or material gifts” and “conversion backed by implicit or actual violence”.
He pointed to Usman Khan, who killed two students in an attack at London Bridge in 2019, as an example of someone who had threatened other inmates to convert while behind bars between 2010 and 2018.
Khan was shot dead by police during the attack, as was Sudesh Amman, who similarly threatened inmates to convert, Mr Hall said.
Jonathan Hall KC said Islamic terrorists were ‘self-styled emirs’ within prison
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And Ian Acheson, who led an independent review of Islamist extremism for then-Justice Secretary Michael Gove, said prisoners had converted as a “pragmatic response” to conditions including space and power.
“This seems to be the case in high security prisons, in particular, where safety is at a premium and there are also large numbers of violent young men entering custody searching for meaning and belonging. So Islam in this case has gang characteristics,” he said.
A third review, conducted by Government adviser Colin Bloom, revealed that if a prisoner did not identify as a Muslim, they would be “denied ‘protection’ from the dominant Muslim gang” or face violence.
Mr Bloom also wrote that Muslim gangs regularly used “the phrase ‘convert or get hurt’” and that “copies of the Quran would be left on the beds of new prisoners”.
Usman Khan, the London Bridge attacker, was known to force conversion while in prison
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He called for a review into the issue of forced conversion in the report, published in 2023.
The number of Muslim inmates in England and Wales has risen from 14,037 in 2022 to 16,051 as of June 30, 2025, – 14 per cent.
An MoJ spokesman said: “We do not tolerate intimidation, gang activity or faith-based coercion of any kind in our prisons.
“Prisons and staff act swiftly to clamp down on all threatening behaviour from any groups or individuals.”