The incident comes in a turbulent period for the Prison Service in which it faced accusations of being "in meltdown" when staff walked out over health and safety concerns.

Two inmates managed to escape from Pentonville Prison, weeks after inmate Jamal Mahmoud, 21, was allegedly murdered there. Two weeks ago, the Prison Service was forced to launch an investigation after a riot at Bedford Prison that took officers six hours to bring under control.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said no staff were hurt and the injured prisoner did not require hospital treatment during the trouble that started on Sunday evening and was brought under control by around 1.30am on Monday.

She added: "We are absolutely clear that prisoners who behave in this way will be punished and could spend significantly longer behind bars."

The spokeswoman would not comment on whether Johnson was involved in the incident.