Prison officers at HMP Liverpool have returned to work after a dispute following the dismissal of a colleague was resolved.
The Prison Officers Association (POA) said its members had refused to go in to work on Thursday morning in protest against the "unjust sacking" of an officer.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) applied for an urgent interim injunction at the High Court in London on Thursday afternoon to prevent the POA from "inducing or encouraging its members to withdraw their services".
But the MoJ withdrew the application after the POA instructed its members to return to work.
Paul Nicholls QC, for the MoJ, said that "an issue arose following the dismissal of an individual officer for what was alleged to be the use of unreasonable force against a prisoner."
Mr Nicholls argued that there was "troubling evidence of damaging and dangerous things which have occurred during previous periods of industrial action within the prison service, including attempted suicide and self-harm amongst prisoners, escape, the need to move prisoners and damage to property".
But Simon Cheetham QC, for the POA, told the court that "some agreement has been reached and the members are going back", and the MoJ to withdrew its application for an injunction.
Giving a short ruling, Mr Justice Dove said that the dispute arose "as a consequence of a prison officer's dismissal in controversial circumstances yesterday, associated with concerns about the use of pre-emptive force when members of staff had reasonable grounds to believe that they may be the subject of an assault".
The judge read out a statement by the POA, which said: "After the governor of HMP Liverpool issued a notice to staff Clarification On Use Of Force, the POA members agreed to return to work.
"The walk-out has been resolved following positive negotiations and a position reached that suited the parties both nationally and locally."
Mr Justice Dove added that the MoJ was "justified" in bringing the application, saying: "The instruction issued this morning was, to put it colloquially, off limits."
He ordered the POA pay £3,000 towards the MoJ's costs of bringing the application.
Staff at HMP Liverpool said earlier on Thursday that they feared for their personal safety and accused local management of refusing to provide them with any assurances.
A statement issued by the POA before the High Court hearing said: "Prison officers face ever-increasing levels of violence due to the unprecedented levels of drugs and debt within the prison population, and Liverpool is a high-risk prison.
"Prison officers are taught to use control and restraint to manage the prison population.
"As part of the training they are taught to use a pre-emptive strike if they feel their personal safety, that of a colleague or a prisoner is at risk.
"The officer used this approved method and was unjustly sacked.
Top news stories
"Prison officers now fear they will lose their jobs if they use force and will often allow prisoners to assault them rather than risk their employment."
A Prison Service spokesman said before the hearing: "It is irresponsible for the POA to encourage its members to take this unlawful action, which puts the safety of staff and prisoners at risk."
The spokesman added: "Prison officers have the right to use proportionate pre-emptive force, and related disciplinary investigations only take place where there are concerns that force could have been excessive and potentially unlawful."
