Hate preachers face more time in jail under new tougher sentencing guidelines

Hate preachers face a crackdown as jail terms for encouraging terrorism are to be more than doubled from seven to 15 years under sentencing council guidelines to be announced on Wednesday.

The sentencing council is also recommending to judges that the “minimum” starting point for jailing those convicted of encouraging terrorism should be increased from five years to 10 years.

Terrorists who plot to kill two or more people will also face a minimum of 14 years in jail under the new guidelines. Britons who travel to war zones also face harsher sentences.

The changes will also widen the scope of section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, under which hate preacher Anjem Choudary was convicted.

It will now cover those who express support for a proscribed organisation and are “reckless as to whether others will be encouraged to support it”. This will increase the minimum sentence to 10 years.

Choudary was freed last October after serving under half of his five-and-a-half year sentence for inviting support for the Islamic State. His videos have been linked to the radicalisation of Ali Harbi Ali, who is being questioned by counter-terror officers on suspicion of killing Sir David Amess, the Tory MP.

There have been concerns that courts have been limited in their ability to impose heavier minimum terms for hate preachers convicted of encouraging terrorism.

New offences for supporting banned terror groups

In 2017, Kamran Sabir Hussain, 40, was jailed for six and a half years after being found guilty of two charges of encouraging support for Islamic State and six charges of encouraging others to commit acts of terrorism.

Hate preachers could now also be prosecuted under new offences for supporting banned terror groups such as Islamic State, which have been introduced as part of the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021.

The sentencing council is recommending the minimum “starting point” for these sentences should be increased from seven to 10 years in jail, with the maximum rising from 10 to 14 years.

To face the maximum, a hate preacher supporting Isil, for example, would need to be in a “position of trust,” to have made “persistent” efforts to promote the terror group and show evidence that they inspired a significant number of followers or encouraged them to carry out life-threatening acts.

The sentencing council said they would enable courts to impose penalties that “better reflect the increased risk and the seriousness of these offences” and “take account of the need to punish, incapacitate and deter”.

Introduction of ‘serious terrorism’ offence

Terrorists will also face a minimum 14-year jail sentence under a new blanket “serious terrorism” category of offence. They could also be required to serve a further period of up to 25 years on licence after release, where any breach would see them recalled to prison.

The sentencing council said serious offences would be those where a judge determined there was a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm and/or it was likely to cause the deaths of at least two people.

Mrs Justice Maura McGowan, council member lead for terrorism offences, said: “Terrorism offences are serious criminal acts that are constantly evolving, and the law is regularly updated in line with the changing nature of the offences, requiring a new approach to sentencing.

“The council is proposing revisions to existing sentencing guidelines to reflect the new legislation and ensure that the courts have comprehensive and up-to-date guidance for dealing with these extremely serious cases.”

Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary, said: “Those who kill and maim in the name of warped and fanatical ideologies will spend longer behind bars, because public protection is our top priority.

“These proposed guidelines will support judges to pass consistent and appropriate sentences in terrorism cases.”