A stand-up comedy course for the inmates of a maximum security prison in Cambridgeshire was called off today after it emerged that a convicted al-Qaeda terrorist was among the would-be comics.

The Sun reported on its front page this morning Zia Ul Haq, convicted last year for plotting to blow up buildings in the UK, was one of 18 inmates brushing up their stand-up skills at Whitemoor prison.

Within hours the course had been cancelled on the direct orders of Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, who said that it was a “totally unacceptable” use of taxpayers’ money.

The Justice Department and senior managers in the Prison Service had apparently been unaware of the eight-day workshop, run by the Comedy School of London at a cost of £8,000 and attended by 18 prisoners.

The course began on Monday but only came to Government attention after today's news reports.

Mr Straw said: “As soon as I heard about the course at HMP Whitemoor, I instructed that it must be immediately cancelled. It is totally unacceptable. Senior managers in the Prison Service, who were also unaware of the course, take the same view as me.

“Prisons should be places of punishment and reform, and providing educational, training and constructive pursuits is an essential part of this. But the types of courses available, and the manner in which they are delivered must be appropriate in every prison.”

At the end of the course, Ul Haq and his fellow prisoners would have received certificates and devised a comedy show to show off their skills to other inmates.

Most inmates in UK prisons have access to educational courses, many designed to help them back into employment when they leave prison. Comedy classes have been available since 1998; organisers say that they boost teamwork and communication skills.

Whether such courses are always suitable will be the subject of an inquiry launched today by the Director of High Security Prisons. Mr Straw said there was a “crucial test” – whether or not the recreational, social and educational classes funded by public money could be justified to the community outside.

A spokeswoman for the Justice Department added: “The director general of the National Offender Management Service is personally briefing governors from all prisons on the need to take account of the public acceptability test in relation to prison classes.”

Ul Haq, of Paddington, West London, was jailed for 18 years last year for plotting to blow up buildings in the capital and elsewhere in Britain. Recruited to be part of a sleeper cell, his degree in construction management enabled him to advise on where explosive charges ought to be planted for maximum damage.

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