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Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

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.

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