BBC: A Prison Service report has expressed concern about problems with the high number of Muslim inmates at one of Britain's high-security jails.
A review of Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire found staff were fearful of doing the wrong thing, "shifting the power dynamic towards prisoners".
The Howard League for Penal Reform said the report was "extremely disturbing".
The Prison Service says it will examine how to manage gangs and terrorist prisoners at the jail.
The report, written by the Prison Service's Directorate of High Security, was obtained by the Howard League under the Freedom of Information Act.
It found staff at Whitemoor Prison near March, Cambridgeshire, "appeared reluctant to challenge inappropriate behaviour, in particular among black and minority ethnic prisoners, for fear of doing the wrong thing".
"This was leading to a general feeling of lack of control and shifting the power dynamic towards prisoners," the report said.
"A wing itself felt particularly unstable with a general lack of confidence among staff."
Urgent matter
The report said there was an "ongoing theme of fear and instability" around the prison and many staff believed a "serious incident" was imminent.
It said the "very high Muslim population" - more than one in four of the 500 inmates - appeared to be "leading to anxiety and apprehension among some staff". Jail Staff 'Fear Muslim Inmates' >>> | May 25, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
