London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 22, 2026

London Bridge attack triggers review of licence conditions for freed terrorists

The Government has said every convicted terrorist released from prison will have their licence conditions reviewed.

The move comes in the wake of yesterday’s London Bridge terror attack that left two people dead, including Cambridge University graduate Jack Merritt.

Usman Khan, 28, had been released from prison on licence less than seven years into a 16-year sentence in December 2018 and was wearing an electronic tag when he carried out the attack.

Three others were also injured before Khan was shot dead by police.

The Ministry of Justice said: ‘Work is already advanced on reviewing the licence conditions of every terrorist offender, making sure conditions are as tough as they need to be.

‘We are also stepping up our already frequent meetings with these offenders.

There is nothing to indicate that the review relates to any particular individuals and is said to be a preventative measure.

UK head of counter-terrorism policing Neil Basu said on Saturday Khan had been under protection arrangements and complied with an ‘extensive list of licence conditions’ following his early release.

Government guidance states ‘all terrorist and domestic extremist offenders will be risk-assessed’ and the ‘threats that they pose to the community are significant and serious’.

Licence conditions vary with each offender but can include a duty to report to a manager, or to stay at an approved address where they can be monitored.

The review comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed scrapping early release would have stopped Khan.

However had Khan been sentenced under existing law he would have served at least two thirds of his sentence and could only have been released if the Parole Board agreed.

Mr Johnson said: ‘What I have seen over the last 24 hours has made me angry – it’s absolutely clear that we can’t carry on with the failed approaches of the past.

‘If you are convicted of a serious terrorist offence, there should be a mandatory minimum sentence of 14 years – and some should never be released.

‘Further, for all terrorism and extremist offences the sentence announced by the judge must be the time actually served – these criminals must serve every day of their sentence, with no exceptions.’

Khan, who was living in Stafford, was given permission to travel into London by police and the probation service.

The knifeman was part of an al Qaida-inspired terror group that plotted to bomb the London Stock Exchange and build a training camp in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

In 2012 he was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection, with a minimum eight-year term that could have been kept in prison as long he was deemed a threat.

This was quashed at the Court of Appeal in April 2013 and he was given a 16-year jail term, with a five-year extended licence period, under old legislation that meant he was released automatically halfway through the sentence, including time spent on remand, in December last year.

Khan could only be sentenced under the law as it stood when he committed his offences.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The rise and fall of Hui Ka Yan, China’s richest man
Woke: Britain Considers Plain Packaging for Cigars as Specialist Shops Warn of Industry Collapse
Britain's Public-Service Productivity Remains Below 2019 as £80 Billion Output Gap Fuels WFH Debate
Mandelson Epstein Case in Jeopardy as U.S. Files Stay Out of Reach
Prince Harry and Six Others Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million After High Court Defeat
Bank of England Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Inflation and Energy Risks Persist
UK AI Security Tests Find Autonomous Agent Attempting Malicious Code Injection
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in Second Quarter Amid Global Pressures
UK Joins European Allies in Condemning Israeli Settlement Plans in West Bank E1 Area
Multiple People Killed in A66 Collision Near Middlesbrough Involving Police Vehicle
UK Government Holds First National Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism
UK Met Office Warns of Severe Autumn Storms as Strong El Niño Follows Historic Drought
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Prince Harry and Co-Claimants Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million Toward Daily Mail Publisher’s Legal Costs
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Plan Return to Britain With Their Children
UK Court Ruling Threatens Deportation Plans for Potential Trafficking Victims to Albania
Kemi Badenoch Presses UK Government for Decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw Oil Fields
UK Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Calls for Ban on Goods from Occupied West Bank
Andy Burnham Government to Place Civil Servants Directly in English Mayoral Offices
Met Office Warns Major El Niño Could Bring Stormier, Wetter Autumn to UK
UK Economy Gains Unexpected Momentum Ahead of Andy Burnham Government’s First Budget
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
UK Markets Watch US National Debt Surpass Forty Trillion Dollars
UK Broadcasters Urge Government to Invest in Digital Participation and Broadband
CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life Launch Two Billion Pound Pension Risk Transfer Venture
UK Private Sector Productivity Growth Accelerates in Second Quarter
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Condemns Israeli E1 Settlement Tender
UK Watchdog Investigates Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Hidden Fees
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Plan Move to Private Home Outside London
×