Convicted terrorists will be banned from stockpiling books in their jail cells to prevent them from hiding extremist literature.
The measures are designed to stamp out a tactic where prisoners collect dozens of books in a bid to throw off officers looking for radical material.
Ministers have announced new rules which state the number of books prisoners must be able to fit into two medium-sized boxes with a maximum weight of 15kg.
It follows one case in which a prisoner was found to have amassed more than 200 books in an apparent bid to thwart staff searching for extremist material.
The Ministry of Justice also announced a ban on terrorist prisoners leading the call to prayer or delivering sermons as they could exploit it “to gain authority over other offenders and spread their poisonous ideology”.
The most dangerous prisoners are already banned from leading Friday calls to prayer - and a report last year by Jonathan Hall KC found that inmates promoting Islamist terrorism will often "boycott" official Friday prayers.
But ministers say the new rules will strengthen existing measures by extending the ban to all faiths and not just those in high-security prisons to ensure extremists are unable to radicalise other inmates.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said: "Faith can play a vital part in prisoners' rehabilitation but we must never tolerate terrorists who seek to exploit religious services to advance their own sinister agenda.
"These changes, alongside tougher sentences for terrorists who commit crimes behind bars and our work to separate more of the most radical terrorists, will better protect our hardworking staff, other prisoners and the public."
It is Mr Chalk's second major announcement as head of the department after he took over from Dominic Raab who resigned after an investigation upheld claims of bullying against him.
He also revealed plans for every prison officer on shift to have a body-worn video camera to boost prison safety.
The new Lord Chancellor announced 13,000 cameras now available to every prison officer on shift to catch crime on video supporting prosecutions and protecting hard-working staff.
In his first week on the job, Mr Chalk was given an urgent instruction to improve "appalling" conditions at a young offenders' institution.
The order was issued by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons after boys were found to be held in solitary confinement for "days on end".
An inspection at HMYOI in Cookham Wood earlier this month found that a quarter of boys were being held in solitary confinement, including two for more than 100 days.
The use of solitary confinement was to "manage conflict" between inmates and the inspectors found that children at the centre felt unsafe, with many making improvised weapons from kettles and other metal objects to protect themselves.
The inspectors also found the facility in "poor overall condition with dirty living units and broken equipment".
Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: "Many of these children have committed serious crimes and have rightly been detained.
"Nevertheless, they are still children, many of whom have come from very difficult backgrounds.
"They ought to be receiving education and support to make better choices in the future, supporting their rehabilitation and growth into adulthood so they leave custody in a better position than they entered it.
"We spoke to boys who'd had almost no human contact at all in days, and who had resorted to trying to stick up photos of home with toothpaste on the walls of the tiny cells that became their whole world.
"Such treatment of children is appalling. This is a scandal and it cannot be allowed to continue."
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