A BRADFORD mosque leader has been given the go ahead for a High Court challenge over lockdown restrictions on Friday prayers due to the coronavirus crisis.

Under current emergency rules to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, places of worship must remain closed - apart from a few exceptions such as funerals, and for faith leaders to broadcast prayers and acts of worship via the internet.

Tabassum Hussain, chairman of the executive committee of the Jamiyat Tabligh-ul-Islam Mosque, on Barkerend Road and one of the largest mosques in Bradford, is pursuing legal action against the Department for Health and Social Care, arguing that the rules are unlawful and breach his human rights to practise his religion.

Following a High Court hearing on Thursday, Mr Justice Swift gave permission for Mr Hussain's challenge to go ahead to a full hearing.

However the judge declined to grant an urgent injunction that would have lifted restrictions and allowed prayers to take place at the mosque on Friday, ahead of the end of Ramadan this weekend.

In his ruling, the senior judge said that the case was "no longer simply a prohibition on communal Friday prayers during the period of Ramadan" but a "more general challenge" on the effect of the rules on "the ability to conduct Friday prayers".

The judge said he could "appreciate and sympathise" with Mr Hussain's frustration at the restrictions on his religious convictions.

However, refusing the injunction sought by Mr Hussain, the judge said he "did not consider any evidence relied upon or submissions made are likely to satisfy a court that the Secretary of State has failed to strike a balance that is fair".

He noted that the "duration of interference" in Mr Hussain's ability to attend communal prayers is "finite", with the Government's rules time-limited and subject to regular review.

He also said that decisions taken over the steps needed to combat the spread of coronavirus are "complex political decisions which the court should not lightly second guess".

During the hearing, Mr Hussain's barrister, Kirsty Brimelow QC, told Mr Justice Swift that the Friday prayers, known as the Jummah, are a "fundamental aspect" and an "obligatory" part of the practice of Islam.

She said the key is that they are "carried out physically in congregation".

In documents before the court, Ms Brimelow said the interference with Mr Hussain's human rights was "particularly severe".

"The Regulations not only prohibit an obligatory aspect of Islam, but they have done so at a highly symbolic moment, namely during the holy month of Ramadan when the importance of strict religious observance is attenuated."

The ban has caused "deep distress", she added.

Ms Brimelow said that Mr Hussain had put forward a plan for the mosque to open only for an hour and a half for the Jummah prayer, with a maximum of 50 worshippers and social distancing in place.

Sir James Eadie QC, representing the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), said in court documents that there is an "undisputed interference" with the ability of people to attend their place of worship during the lockdown, but that this is "justified and proportionate by the need to protect life and public health".

He told Mr Justice Swift that the current situation, and changes to lockdown rules, involve matters of judgment, adding "the advice in a nutshell is the virus is highly contagious and particularly easy to spread in gatherings of people and indoors".

Sir James said: "This is all a question of judgment. There isn't a right answer, but a series of highly difficult judgment calls that need to be made."

He added that they are "primarily" for the Government to make.

No date has been set for the hearing of Mr Hussain's judicial review.