London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Terrorists limited to two boxes of books in prison cells

Terrorists limited to two boxes of books in prison cells

Limits have been placed on the amount of books convicted terrorists in England and Wales can keep in their prison cells.

Extremists will also now be banned from taking a "leading role" in religious services under the new measures.

It follows a 2022 report which raised concerns about radicalisation and Islamist gangs in prisons.

New Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said the changes would stop terrorists advancing "their own sinister agenda".

Those in custody convicted of terrorism - about 200 people - will be limited to two medium-sized boxes of books that must weigh no more than 15kg.

Prisoners can obtain books from prison libraries, order from approved retailers or be sent them by friends and family.

But there are concerns around extremist materials being hidden inside approved books, or covers being swapped as a disguise.

The government said the move would make it easier for prison staff to search for prohibited material, citing a case in which one convicted terrorist had 200 books in his cell.

A previous blanket ban on prisoners being sent books from people outside prison was ruled to be unlawful by the High Court in 2014, less than a year after it was imposed.

The same ruling said there was "no good reason" to restrict the amount of books prisoners can have by volume, but the Ministry of Justice said it was not expecting a legal challenge as the change is limited to terror offenders.

The changes announced on Sunday do not require Commons approval and come into force immediately, the Ministry of Justice said.

The library at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, Wales, photographed in 2017


Restrictions will also be strengthened so convicted terrorists can not have any formal role in religious services, such as delivering a reading.

Currently only the most dangerous prisoners are banned from leading Friday prayers. Now the ban will cover prisoners of any faith, and not just those in high-security prisons.

The changes follow recommendations made by Jonathan Hall, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, which drew particular attention to the influence of Islamists in prison.

He said the prison service had "lost its role in the national endeavour to reduce the risk of terrorism" and called for tighter restrictions on terror offenders while in custody.

Mr Chalk, who replaced Dominic Raab as justice secretary after his resignation earlier this month, said he recognised the role faith can play in a prisoners' rehabilitation but said some may abuse the rules.

He added: "These changes, alongside tougher sentences for terrorists who commit crimes behind bars and our work to separate more of the most radical terrorists, will better protect our hardworking staff, other prisoners and the public."

Labour responded by criticising the government's record on counter-terrorism policy, referencing concerns about the potential effect on terror trials raised by the security services in 2021 amid attempts to reform the Human Rights Act.

Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said: "If the Conservatives really cared about stopping terrorists they would not be proposing changes in the law that will slow down prosecuting them.

"Britain's security services slapped down the government's disastrous proposals to slow down trials for foreign terrorists and risk cases collapsing so instead of being jailed or deported they remain loose on Britain's streets.

"Only Labour can be trusted with keeping the public safe. And that starts by working with our intelligence services to do their job, not working against them."

Liberal Democrat cabinet affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine accused the Conservatives of breaching pre-election rules, which restrict ministers from making party political announcements with the help of government resources in the run-up to a vote.

In a letter to the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, she called for the timing of the announcement - which came via the Ministry of Justice press office days before the local elections - to be investigated.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×