Hate preacher’s £140k legal aid to fight terror trial

HATE preacher Anjem Choudary received more than £140,000 in legal aid in his bid to dodge prison for gathering support for Islamic State.

Choudary was convicted in August last year of inspiring hundreds of extremists to carry out terror attacks or become jihadists in Syria.

The British-born cleric was jailed for five and a half years for his sermons on social media and YouTube

Now it has emerged that Choudary billed the taxpayer £140,557 for his unsuccessful court battle – with the figure set to rise as his lawyers continue to file claims.

He racked up £98,122 in solicitors’ fees, £23,569 for a separate court lawyer, and £18,866 in legal firm expenses.

The revelation of the extraordinary sums, unveiled by a Freedom of Information request, comes after the Mail told how grieving families of the IRA Hyde Park bombing victims were refused legal aid earlier this year in their bid to bring a private prosecution against the chief suspect. Choudary, 50, had spent two decades helping to radicalise potential terrorists before he was brought to justice.

He was a leading figure in the now banned terrorist group al-Muhajiroun, which has links to 15 terror plots, including the 7/7 attacks.

His trial also heard he swore an oath of allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Earlier this month it was revealed he was one of the first extremists to be put in a ‘prison within a prison’ to stop them brainwashing vulnerable inmates. He was moved to the unit at HMP Frankland in Durham after he refused to stop preaching his bile.

The Legal Aid Agency said: ‘Anyone facing a crown court trial is eligible for legal aid, subject to a strict means test. Those who do meet the relevant thresholds may still be required to pay a significant contribution towards the costs of their defence.’