Generation of terrorists being groomed in British jails Major sporting events such as this year's Olympic Games could be targeted by Muslim ex-prisoners who were radicalised whilst behind bars, according to a study published in the journal of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). It warned that up to around one in 10 of the UK's 8,000 Muslim inmates were being successfully targeted by extremists inside jail and could form the next generation of terrorists. Michael Clarke, director of RUSI and co-author of the 2010 study, said: "Perhaps some 800 potentially violent radicals, not previously guilty of terrorism charges, will be back in society over the coming five to ten years ... The natural reaction to improved counter-terrorist operations is for jihadist attacks to evolve towards more individual efforts. The report warned that radicalisation was taking place particularly rapidly in the eight high-security prisons where terrorists are usually detained. Several convicted Islamist terrorists have seen their jail terms reduced on appeal following a landmark 2008 ruling. Three judges, including Lord Phillips, the then Lord Chief Justice, warned that excessive prison sentences could boost support for extremists. "Care has to be taken to ensure that the sentence was not disproportionate to the facts of the particular offences," the judges said as they reduced the sentence of Abdul Rahman, who was convicted of disseminating terrorist propaganda in Nov 2007. "If sentences were imposed which were more severe than the circumstances of the particular case warranted, that would be likely to inflame rather than deter extremism," they added.