LONDON, Dec 29: The case of suspected British shoe-bomber Richard Reid, who had converted to Islam while in prison, has increased fears that jails in Britain could be breeding grounds for Muslim extremists.

The imam at the prison where Mr Reid is said to have converted to Islam was suspended last month after allegations that he distributed anti-US literature and delivered inflammatory sermons to inmates in the aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks.

Mr Rehman Qureshi, of Pakistan origin, had been the imam at the Feltham prison for three years, visiting at least once a week to conduct prayers and discussion groups with the prison’s Muslims inmates.

But Mr Qureshi’s father, who had also worked as imam in the same prison, was quoted by the British media as saying that the allegations against his son were the result of a racist witch-hunt by staff at the jail.

He said he or Qureshi had nothing to do with Mr Reid’s case. But the prison service said it had no evidence of improper staff involvement in the suspension of Abdul Rehman Qureshi, though last January an internal prison service inquiry identified pockets of “malicious racism” at the Feltham prison.

The prison service has also confirmed that a second imam had been suspended in the wake of the Sept 11 attacks.

The director general of the prison service, Martin Narey, said imam Ahmed Bilal was eventually excluded after giving prisoners at Aylesbury young offenders’ institution, transcripts of a controversial radio interview in the days following Sept 11.

Muslims make up the third largest faith group in British prisons, and the fastest growing.