Yahoo News London Bridge attack: Usman Khan was student and personal friend of Anjem Choudary
The London Bridge attacker was a student and personal friend of Anjem Choudary, the notorious Islamist hate preacher.
Usman Khan, a convicted terrorist released less than seven years into a 16-year prison sentence for a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange, had Anjem Choudary’s private mobile phone number stored on his phone at the time of his initial arrest, the Henry Jackson Society has found.
Khan was one of a series of Al-Muhajiroun connected terrorists to be released over a six-month period beginning in the Autumn of 2018. He was known to have attended a series of Al-Muhajiroun protests and street stalls in the Midlands area prior to his arrest.
Before his conviction for the LSE terror plot, police had previously raided his home in Tunstall over concerns about his links to Choudary.
Dr Paul Stott a research fellow at the Centre on Radicalisation and Terrorism at Henry Jackson Society, said that "all these years later, and Anjem Choudary’s one-time acolytes are still butchering members of the public on our streets".
"Usman Khan was a loyal and integral member of Choudary’s inner-circle and we know him to have been highly regarded by Choudary."
Dr Stott added that 25 per cent of all Islamist terrorists have some sort of "link to Choudary" and that the "security services must consider immediately recalling Choudary to prison until the threat posed by him and his affiliates has stabilised”.
It comes as Boris Johnson condemned the early release of criminals after it emerged Usman Khan had been freed from prison on an electronic tag.
Two people were murdered and at least three more seriously injured, when the suspected jihadist, wearing a fake suicide vest, went on a rampage at a criminal justice seminar he was attending.
Police named the man as Usman Khan, a 28-year-old from Staffordshire. In 2012, Khan became a convicted terrorist for his role in the Stock Exchange plot, a planned scheme for a Christmas bomb attack on the London Stock Exchange, the American embassy and the home of Boris Johnson, who was then the Mayor of London.
Neil Basu, the Metropolitan Police's assistant commissioner, said his team were carrying out searches at the suspect's residence but believe that he was acting alone.
The Prime Minister paid tribute to the extraordinary bravery of members of the public and the emergency services who helped tackle the manic, describing them as “the very best of our country”.
But he also said he had "long argued" it was a "mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out of prison early”.
He added: “It is very important that we get out of that habit and that we enforce the appropriate sentences for dangerous criminals, especially for terrorists, that I think the public will want to see."
Temporarily suspending his election campaign, Mr Johnson said Britain would never be “cowed, divided or intimidated” by those who brought terror to the streets and he vowed to hunt down and bring to justice anyone else involved.
The incident began just before 2pm on Friday, when the attacker, who had been attending the Learning Together criminal justice conference at Fishmongers’ Hall on London Bridge began stabbing fellow delegates with two large knives.
It is understood the former prisoner, who was still on licence and whose movements and travel were restricted, had been given permission to attend the event along with other convicted criminals.
The killer is thought to have attended the morning session, taking part in various workshops, in which he described his experiences as a prisoner, before launching his deadly attack without warning just before 2pm.
The Queen respond's to yesterday's attack on London Bridge:
Prince Philip and I have been saddened to hear of the terror attacks at London Bridge. We send our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies to all those who have lost love ones and who have been affected by yesterday’s terrible violence. I express my enduring thanks to the police and emergency services, as well as the brave individuals who put their own lives at risk to selflessly help and protect others.
Elizabeth R
Brandon Lewis says more assessment needed on sentences given to violent criminals
The security minister refused to say whether the attack on London Bridge by Usman Khan showed a "failure" by authorities.
Mr Lewis repeatedly refused to comment on the specifics of the incident, but said that more assessment was needed of the sentences given to violent criminals.
"We take what action we need to do and we believe is right under the advice of the police and look at all of the lessons learned from any case as quickly as we can to ensure people's safety," he told Sky News.
Mr Lewis said that although the UK terror threat level had been recently reduced from "severe" to "substantial", there had been "no change in the posture and the work" of police and counter-terrorism forces.
He added that the Government wants to move "very swiftly" in its review of sentencing for violent crimes following the London Bridge attack.
"I think it is right that we do have to look again at the sentences, as I say, around these violent crimes," he told the Today programme.
"The Prime Minister has argued that, has made that point previously and made it very clearly last night.
"We will want to move very swiftly because our first priority is the safety of people around the country."
Sadiq Khan says police cuts linked to terrorism
The Mayor of London said "you can't disaggregate terrorism and security from cuts made to resources of the police, of probation, the tools that judges have".
Speaking in the wake of yesterday's London Bridge attack, he told the Today programme that "the key thing is we need to support the police and security service".
He added that it was important politicians did not use "trite words and trite language after a terror attack", as he said there were two key things keep in mind following yesterday's events:
First is yesterday we saw the very best of Londoners
Secondly, we've got to make sure the right lessons are learnt.
You can't disaggregate terrorism and security from cuts made to resources of the police, of probation, the tools that judges have. It's all linked.
WATCH: Rugby player recalls moment he stamped on the attacker's wrist to free knife
London Bridge hero was murderer on day release
Among members of the public who confronted Khan were former prisoners attending a rehabilitation event at Fishmongers’ Hall, including a man convicted of killing a young woman.
James Ford, 42, was out on day release when he joined those who chased Khan out onto the street before he was pinned to the ground on Friday afternoon.
Ford was jailed for life with a minimum of 15 years in 2004 for the murder of Amanda Champion, who had a mental age of 15.
It is thought Ford rushed to the scene and tried to save the life of a woman victim of Khan. Sources said his actions during the attack had probably saved lives.
But Ms Champion’s family expressed concern that Hall had been allowed on day release from prison without his victims’ relatives being informed in advance.
Ms Champion was found strangled and with her throat cut on waste ground near her home in Ashford, Kent, in July 2003.
Read our report of the 2004 court case here.
British values will prevail against terror
terror attack in the centre of London in the middle of an election campaign is a reminder of how vulnerable the country still is.
In moments such as this, we see the best and the worst of the human condition. Whatever motivated this person, whatever their allegiances, it fits a pattern of attempting to strike fear into the heart of democratic society, to force it to roll back its liberties.
Read the Telegraph View on yesterday's attack in full here.
'The police rolled him over and saw he had a bomb vest'
The panicked screams echoing through the ornate surroundings of Fishmongers’ Hall were the first indication that terror had returned to the streets of London.
Those attending an event marking the five-year anniversary of a Cambridge University criminal justice initiative called Learning Together had just returned from their lunch break when a tall, bearded man burst in through the doors brandishing two large knives.
Around 100 attendees, including outreach workers, academics and criminologists, were caught up in the ensuing chaos, many unable to get out of his path.
Read our reconstruction of yesterday's events here.
This attack has a sense of déjà vu - but it is different in one notable respect
Whilst other suspects may still be at large, radicalised individuals operating alone are notoriously difficult to monitor and it is extremely difficult to understand their mental state – presenting unique challenges to MI5 and counter-terrorist police who run live operations against them, Richard Walton writes.
Read his comment piece in full here.
Staffordshire flats searched in dawn raid
A block of flats in Stafford, Staffordshire, was searched by specialist police teams this morning. The address is believed to be connected to yesterday's terror attack.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said Khan had been living in the Staffordshire area and that police were "not actively seeking anyone else" over the attack.
Uniformed officers are continuing to stand guard outside the three-storey block of flats in Woverhampton Road, in Stafford today as investigations continue.
London Mayor urges Christmas shoppers not to be afraid to go out
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he hoped that the London Bridge terror attack would not put people off their Christmas shopping.
Mr Khan said that while thoughts and prayers should remain with the families of those who died in the attack, he was "really proud" of the way that people had resumed their "normal business" on Friday evening.
"What we shouldn't allow to happen is for our way of life to be disrupted by this terrorist - that's what they want," he told BBC Breakfast on Saturday.
"What I'm really proud about is, last night, outside the cordoned area in London Bridge and in parts of central London, there were people enjoying bars, enjoying restaurants, going about their normal business. "I'm hoping people today come to London to shop for Christmas, to go about their normal business - they will see more police officers, some armed, some not armed in uniform."
More detail about Usman Khan's 2012 court case
In late December 2010, Khan, along with eight others, was charged with conspiracy to cause explosions and other terrorism offences. They denied plotting to target sites such as the London Stock Exchange, the Houses of Parliament and the US embassy, as well as religious and political figures.
On February 1, 2012, the nine pleaded guilty to a variety of terrorist offences, just before their trial was due to begin. Four admitted an al Qaida-inspired plot to detonate a bomb at the London Stock Exchange. Khan and two others admitted to a lesser charge - engaging in conduct for the preparation of terrorism between November 1 and December 21, 2010 - namely travelling to and attending operational meetings, fundraising for terrorist training, preparing to travel abroad and assisting others in travelling abroad.
Prosecutor Andrew Edis QC, opening the Crown's case at the start of a three-day sentencing hearing on February 6, 2012, said: "These defendants had in overview decided that ultimately they would be responsible for very serious acts of terrorism.
"What was observed during the indictment period was planning for the immediate future, not involving suicide attacks, so that there would be a long-term future which would include further acts of terrorism."
Terror group plans to attack the London Stock Exchange
In February 2012, Khan, who had been based in Stoke-on-Trent, was handed an indeterminate sentence for public protection over his part in an al Qaida-inspired terror group that plotted to bomb the London Stock Exchange and build a terrorist training camp on land in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir owned by his family.
A list of other potential targets included the names and addresses of the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London, then London mayor Boris Johnson, two rabbis, and the American Embassy in London.
But the sentence for Khan, along with two co-conspirators, was quashed at the Court of Appeal in April 2013 and he was given a determinate 16-year jail term. Prisoners are usually released half-way through a determinate sentence but Khan had served less than seven years when he was freed on licence in December last year.
Parties step back from election campaigning
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn have insisted the country must not be intimidated by the London Bridge terror attack, as they take a step back from General Election campaigning.
The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats have all cancelled campaign events after two people were killed by a terrorist during the knife rampage.
Prime Minister Mr Johnson was due to campaign in the capital today, but is understood to have cancelled his planned events following the attack.
As it happened: read yesterday's London Bridge terror attack live blog here.
