Ministers are expected to drop plans to allow Christian, Jewish and Muslim state schools to admit all their pupils from one faith after warnings that the move could heighten community divisions in Britain.
A U-turn would jeopardise dozens of new free schools planned by faith groups, some to cope with the influx of Catholic families from Poland and other east European countries.
Catholics said this weekend they would not open new state schools if they had to reserve half their places for children of other faiths, raising new school funding problems for the government.
Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector of schools, told The Sunday Times that she was “uncomfortable” about allowing more single-faith schools and hinted that manifesto proposals — due to be confirmed this