Freed terrorist strikes again
A terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest stabbed two people on a busy London high street yesterday, just days after his release from prison and while under surveillance by counterterrorism officers who shot him dead.
Sudesh Amman, 20, had been automatically released from jail halfway through a sentence of three years and four months for possessing a bomb-making manual.
Government sources yesterday admitted that there had been concerns about his behaviour but they had been powerless to keep him behind bars.
Ministers are braced to face immediate demands for all terrorists who have been released early to be recalled, amid growing fears over public safety following two attacks by terrorists on parole within just over two months.
Up to 180 convicted Islamist terrorists have been released early from jail in the past two decades, analysis shows, and The Daily Telegraph warned that Amman was due for release in the wake of the London Bridge attack.
Boris Johnson will today make an urgent statement to announce plans for ‘‘fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences’’.
Amman was shot dead by plain-clothes officers, who had been following him, within eight seconds of stabbing a woman in the back. His second victim was last night fighting for his life in hospital. It is understood that Amman was wearing an electronic monitoring tag.
In the wake of November’s London Bridge attack, the Government promised tougher monitoring for serious terrorists, including in probation hostels, to allow authorities to keep closer tabs on them following their release.
However, the attack will raise questions about how a terrorist apparently under 24-hour surveillance was able to attack innocent people in the middle of the day on a busy high street.
In a statement, 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.’’ He added: ‘‘Following the awful events at Fishmonger’s Hall, 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.’’
Whitehall sources confirmed that Amman had been released from prison towards the end of January under very strict licence terms.
A source said: ‘‘He was also under surveillance and that is what allowed the police to do their job so quickly. It meant that it could have been worse than it was had he not been under this surveillance.’’ The source added: ‘‘There were concerns about this individual when he was in prison – around his language – but there were no powers available to any of the authorities to keep him behind bars.’’
The knife-obsessed college student was jailed in December 2018 after sharing an al-Qaeda magazine in a family WhatsApp group. He had reached the automatic halfway release point, including time served on remand.
He would not have been caught by the Government’s plans for longer sentences for the worst terrorists and sex offenders as the offence would not have been sufficiently serious, it is understood. Residents at the bail hostel where Amman had been staying, less than a kilometre from the scene of the attack, said that he had tried to take his own life two weeks ago and had been asking for medication.
It is thought that Amman may have realised he was being watched because he stole a 25cm kitchen knife costing £3.99 (NZ$8) from the Low Price Store at around 2pm yesterday. Within seconds he stabbed a woman in the back.
As he ran up the busy high street he stabbed a man, believed to be in his 30s, in the side.
Witnesses described how the second victim lay on the pavement with blood pouring from the wound as he waited for around 30 minutes for paramedics to arrive.
At least two officers who had been following Amman, dressed in hoodies and jeans and with balaclavas covering their faces, gave chase on foot after he attacked his first victim.
It is thought that a third officer on a motorcycle who had been part of the surveillance team may have been the first to open fire.