A former prison chaplain has claimed he was forced out of his job at Brixton prison after the Muslim managing chaplain there accused him of holding 'extreme' views.
Paul Song, 48, said he was dismissed because of false claims by a prisoner, according to the Sunday Times.
He had worked at the jail since 1998 but became engaged in a dispute with the Muslim managing chaplain, Imam Mohammed Yusuf Ahmed, who took over in 2015. Song says Ahmed told him he wanted to 'change the Christian domination' at the prison and that the courses he taught were 'too radical'.
He was excluded from the prison last August and was told the following month an inmate had made 'allegations of misconduct' against him. Among these was a claim Song had described the prisoner as a 'terrorist' and referred to ISIS. No evidence was provided to back up the claim, which Song denies.
Song also claimed the prison management had told him Ahmed had said he had accused him of being 'unfavourable to Christians'.
He is being advised by the Christian Legal Centre, whose chief executive Andrea Williams said: 'To call this Christian who has served without a blemish for almost 20 years an extremist defies belief.'
HM Prison and Probation Service told the Sunday Times: 'We do not comment on individual members of staff. However, we recognise the importance of faith and the positive impact that it can have on the lives of offenders, which is why there are multi-faith chaplaincy teams in every prison.'
