220 TERRORISTS TO STAY LOCKED UP FOR LONGER
Ministers to bring in new laws after Streatham attack Warning of grave threat to the UK PM says he’s run out of patience with freeing convicts early
HUNDREDS of terrorists already in jail will be kept locked up for longer under sweeping new laws to be introduced in the wake of the Streatham knife attack.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland also announced a major review yesterday which could see terrorists jailed for life or permanent conditions placed on their release.
The UK faces an ‘unprecedented situation of severe gravity’, he said, after Sudesh Amman knifed two people just days after he was freed from Belmarsh jail.
In an extraordinary move, ministers will introduce emergency legislation this week to stop 220 extremists already in jail being set free half way into their sentence.
Mr Buckland said serving terrorist prisoners will not be released before their full sentence has been served without a risk assessment from a beefed-up Parole Board, in a move likely to face a huge backlash and legal challenge.
The body – made up of ‘cynical hardened’ former judges and experts – will assess whether a prisoner should be let out two-thirds of the way into their sentence. If they believe they are still a danger, then they will have to serve the entirety of their sentence.
Crucially, the new law will apply retrospectively to all 220 terrorist prisoners currently in jail. It will be put before MPs as soon as this week.
The Government also announced that it would order a review into how to deal with terrorists in the longer term.
This could see terrorists only let out if they are believed to no longer pose a danger – a move which could see them jailed for life, or, permanent conditions placed upon them. Following the attack, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had come ‘to the end of my patience’ with the freeing of offenders before they had completed their sentences and without any scrutiny.
De-radicalising people was a ‘very, very difficult thing to do’, he said.
Amman became the second person to have committed a terror attack in less than three months after being released early from jail. Whitehall officials last night said he had to be released under current laws even though he was considered a danger to society.
Sources said he failed to attend de-radicalisation courses in prison and was associating with extremist prisoners.
A Whitehall official said: ‘He was a bad man all the time he was in prison. He was associating with extremists and continued to say extreme things.
‘They tried everything they could to… change his behaviour and it didn’t work. But they said they could not keep him in jail because there was not enough evidence to commit him of a fresh offence.’
Amman attended Friday prayers and had access to imams during his time at Belmarsh prison. A security source said: ‘We had serious concerns about his mind set before he went in and his time in prison didn’t alleviate those concerns.’
Amman was considered among the ten
‘Controversial but justifiable’
most dangerous men in Britain when he was released.
In Greenwich, the PM said deradicalising people was a ‘very, very difficult thing to do’.
He added: ‘There is a big psychological barrier… and that’s why I stress the importance of the custodial option and that’s why I have come to the end of my patience with the idea of automatic early release. This is a liberal country, it is a tolerant country, but I think the idea of automatic early release for people who obviously continue to pose a threat to the public has come to the end of its useful life.’
Mr Buckland said: ‘We face an unprecedented situation of severe gravity and, as such, it demands that the Government responds immediately.’
He told the Commons that the Parole Board would be ‘strengthened’ and steps would be taken to introduce the plans ‘as soon as possible’. The PM earlier said the new parole panel would be made up of ‘cynical hardened people who would look into their eyes’ and determine if they were safe to be released.
Critics have asked whether keeping terrorists in prison longer just increases the chance of them being further radicalised. Amanda Pinto QC, chairman of the Bar Council, said: ‘We would urge the Government to take care in considering any sentencing changes that may apply retrospectively.’ But Lord Macdonald QC, a former director of public prosecutions, said: ‘These proposals are slightly controversial but justifiable. It is no longer tenable to release people who are still ideologically committed to committing terrorist acts.’
Dr Alan Mendoza, of the Henry Jackson Society, said: ‘ The Government’s plans restore a degree of common sense to the way we handle society’s most dangerous individuals.’