Prison officers are to be kitted out with cans of pepper spray to help them combat violence in jails.
Following successful trials in four jails, prisons minister Rory Stewart has said the synthetic PAVA spray will now be rolled out at all complexes housing male convicts.
He told The Sun that the incapacitant had proven to be a successful deterrent during the test phase.
"The mere fact that an officer is wearing the canister on their belt acts as a deterrent and can prevent incidents getting out of hand," said Mr Stewart.
"Our prison officers are doing one of the most important and heroic jobs in our society. We must give them the means to do their job."
The news comes ahead of a speech by Prison Governors Association (PGA) president Andrea Albutt, who is expected to use her speech at the organisation's annual conference to accuse the government of failing to respond quickly enough to the jail safety crisis.
She is set to paint a bleak picture of the state of jails across the UK after a surge in levels of violence, self-harm and drug use behind bars, which has seen the head of the Prison and Probation Service asked to step aside.
Ms Albutt will say on Tuesday that prisons are failing to provide "a safe, decent and secure regime" due to a lack of staff, "not fit for purpose contracts", and "a violent, disrespectful, gang and drug-affiliated population".
0:56Earlier this month, a former prison officer told Sky News how threats and intimidation between inmates had driven some to attempt suicide and that staff were left powerless to prevent it.
And a serving inmate at a UK jail said the violence was "likely to get worse before it gets better", warning it would take the death of a prison officer before things improve.
The Ministry of Justice has said it acknowledged the challenges prison officers faced and that it had taken meaningful action to address them, but the introduction of pepper spray has been criticised for its potential to worsen the violence.
John Podmore, an ex-governor at the high-security Belmarsh Prison in London, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the canisters could end up being turned on officers.
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But Phil Taylor, the former governor of Wormwood Scrubs, said it was a worthwhile measure as part of wider reforms.
He told Today: "Whilst I think it's a regrettable step perhaps, I don't think it's a retrograde step. I think it's a much wider picture that we need to consider and it's fair and proper that prison officers should be protected."
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