DERMOT’S EXTREMIST FACTOR...

Hate cleric now a neighbour

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HATE preacher Anjem Choudary left prison yesterday to live in a posh part of London which is teeming with celebrities.

The extremist cleric will be a neighbour to the likes of X Factor host Dermot O’Leary, Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher and singer Paul Weller.

Choudary was driven away from jail under the cover of darkness early yesterday and released into a probation hostel in a swanky part of north London.

Locals told how they want the “troublemaker moved” as the Islamic State terror group supporter started his new life as a semi-free man.

Ban

Choudary’s new neighbours also include actress Sienna Miller.

And celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is believed to have a restaurant nearby.

Choudary’s release on “good behaviour grounds” from high security Belmarsh prison, in south-east London, includes 25 licence conditions to try to stop him encouraging jihad.

They include electronic tagging, constant contact with his probation chief, handing over his passport and a ban on travelling outside the M25.

The 51-year-old smiled for the cameras just hours after he left prison.

He refused to answer questions, but nodded when asked if he was enjoying his freedom. He was later seen being driven away from the hostel.

Choudary served about half of his five-and-a-half year sentence for encouraging the support of Islamic State.

He helped to inspire the murderers of soldier Lee Rigby and also an attacker in the London Bridge terror atrocity.

It is estimated the security operation surrounding his release will cost the taxpayer £2million a year compared to the £50,000 to keep him in jail.

Fiyaz Mughal, head of anti-extremist group Faith Matters, said: “He should have served the full term.

“It’s a terrible day for victims of the attacks he helped to incite.

“We need a change in the law so that anyone named as the inciter of two terrorist attacks should automatically serve the full sentence.”

The security services have also taken to calling him “a coward, not a martyr” to try to limit his influence on impressionable young Muslims.

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