MANY people will be outraged at reports that suspected terrorists in Long Lartin prison, near Evesham, are getting special treatment.

It seems the eight Muslim inmates of the prison's specialist unit for extremist prisoners have unrestricted access to a courtyard where they can grow fruit and vegetables and enjoy up to nine-and-a-half hours of fresh air and sunshine.

It does seem unfair that some prisoners enjoy privileges denied to their fellow inmates purely because of the charges they face.

Why, for example, should the prison service go to the expense of providing Arabic literature and TV channels for these inmates? Are French or Chinese speakers in our prisons afforded the same comforts?

Of course, we would not want go down the Guantanamo Bay route, where prisoners unconvicted of any crime are subject to treatment that most people in this country would regard as incompatible with justice and democracy.

Any prisoner - especially if they are held on remand and are innocent in the eyes of the law - should be treated with minimum standards of human decency.

It may indeed be necessary to segregate Muslim prisoners from mainstream inmates at Long Lartin to avoid the possibility of tension or violence that could disrupt the efficient running of the prison.

But these prisoners should not be treated any better or worse than anyone else on remand.