British authorities have been aware of this problem for several years. Official reports have previously described instances of pressure on vulnerable inmates, their recruitment, and even threats of physical violence. The new wave of discussion was sparked by statements from Nick Timothy, the shadow justice minister from the Conservative Party. He called on the Labour government to urgently investigate reports of forced conversion to Islam. According to data provided by Timothy, one in five Muslim inmates is a white British person. This is approximately four times higher than the corresponding figure among the Muslim population of the country as a whole. "Islamist groups control many of our prisons. Converting to Islam becomes the only way to gain protection from them," Timothy stated. He claims that experts have repeatedly warned authorities about cases where inmates were forced to change their religion under pressure from prison gangs.
