Boris Johnson to announce fresh terror crackdown in wake of Streatham attack
2 min read
Boris Johnson is to unveil “fundamental changes” to the way convicted terrorists are released from jail in the wake of the Streatham knife attack.
The Prime Minister will on Monday set out further legislative measures to deal with the threat from radicalised prisoners let out midway through their sentence.
His announcement comes after it was confirmed that Sudesh Amman - who was shot and killed by anti-terror police shot on Sunday - had been released early from jail.
The 20-year-old, who stabbed three people while wearing a hoax suicide vest, was jailed for 40 months in 2018 for possession of terrorist materials.
He was let out just days ago on automatic release after serving half his sentence, despite concerns that he still held extremist views.
After the London Bridge terror attack last year, when two people were stabbed to death at Fishmongers' Hall by former inmate Usman Khan, the Government moved to end early release for serious offenders.
But Amman would not have fallen under the proposals due to the short length of his sentence.
In response to the latest attack, Mr Johnson said: “I want to pay tribute to the speed and bravery of the police who responded and confronted the attacker – preventing further injuries and violence – and all of the emergency services who came to the aid of others.”
The PM added: “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.”
After the killings by Khan in December, Mr Johnson said the Government’s preoccupation with Brexit had meant they were unable to change the law to keep potentially dangerous offenders in jail for longer.
He said: "If you are convicted of a serious terrorist offence, there should be a mandatory minimum sentence of 14 years - and some should never be released.
"Further, for all terrorism and extremist offences the sentence announced by the judge must be the time actually served - these criminals must serve every day of their sentence, with no exceptions."
Since then details of The Counter Terrorism (Sentencing and Release) Bill were released, which as well as extending sentences will see an overhaul of the licensing regime too, including the introduction of lie detector tests for prisoners to prove they have been de-radicalised.
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