Streatham 'terrorist' freed from jail days ago after extremist material conviction

Streatham 'terrorist' freed from jail days ago after extremist material conviction
The attacker, who has yet to be identified, stabbed two people before being gunned down in broad daylight He had been serving a sentence for the possession and distribution of extremist material

A suspected terrorist who stabbed two people before being gunned down by police in Streatham was released from prison just days ago.

Whitehall sources said the man - who has yet to be named - had very recently been released from prison, where he had been serving a sentence for the possession and distribution of extremist material.

It is understood that he left prison just a matter of days ago after serving half of his more-than three year sentence.

A Whitehall source said: "He was under surveillance, that is what allowed police to do their job so quickly. It could have been much worse than it was.

"There had been concerns when he was in prison but there were no powers for any authority to keep him behind bars.

"There was nothing that could be done to keep him behind bars under existing laws, hence why he was under surveillance and strict licencing conditions.He had served half of his sentence, which was more than three years, so had to be released despite concerns over his conduct.

"The public will look at this case and say why was this individual not kept behind bars and the Prime Minister shares that view.


"This shines a light on something that clearly needs addressing."

Boris Johnson is planning to crack down on early release of prisoners - but this would not have applied to this individual because the current plans only apply to more violent offences.The Prime Minister is expected tomorrow to come forward with new plans to deal further with terrorist offenders.

The Concerns about the man’s behaviour behind bars included ‘language that suggested he continued to hold extremist views’.

A Whitehall source said that the ‘very stringent’ licencing conditions included a curfew.n a statement this evening the Prime Minister said: “An investigation is taking place at pace to establish the full facts of what happened, and the Government will provide all necessary support to the police and security services as this work goes on.

“Following the awful events at Fishmonger’s Hall in December, we have moved quickly to introduce a package of measures to strengthen every element of our response to terrorism – including longer prison sentences and more money for the police.

“Tomorrow, we will announce further plans for fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences.”

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