Political row breaks out over release of London terror attack knifeman Usman Khan

Angry row erupts in Britain over who is responsible for the release of the convicted terrorist behind the London Bridge attack despite his shocking history.

An angry row has broken out over which political party was responsible for the laws that allowed the early release of a convicted terrorist to carry out the deadly attack on London Bridge on Friday afternoon.

Seven years ago Usman Khan had been convicted of a 2010 terror plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange and Boris Johnson, the then mayor of London.

But Khan was released less than a year ago, without his case being reviewed by the Parole Board.

Attacker Usman Khan.

Khan, wearing an electronic tag, stabbed two people to death and injured three in a frenzied attack inside the Fishmongers’ Hall, after attending a prisoner rehabilitation experience hosted by Cambridge University.

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Khan, 28, took part in the “judicial learning’’ which involved criminals writing and speaking alongside judicial students, but he returned after the lunch break threatening to blow the hall up, wearing what was later discovered to be a fake suicide vest. He had two knives strapped to his hands and first attacked one of the leaders of the prisoner rehabilitation group, 25 year-old Jack Merritt, who died at the scene.

Jack Merritt, 25, was killed during the attack.

A woman, whose name has not yet been released, was also killed inside the hall, despite the interventions of a convicted murderer James Ford, 42, who was on day release for the 2004 killing of 21-year-old Amanda Champion, a young woman with learning difficulties.

Minutes later Khan was wrestled to the ground just outside the hall on London Bridge by pursuing men, including an undercover British transport police office, a Polish chef from Fishmongers’ Hall, who had grabbed a narwhal tusk from the hall’s wall, and another man who also grabbed a fire extinguisher from the same wall.

British police raided a residential address in Stafford, central England, on November 30 in connection with the London attack.

But Khan’s presence at the prisoner rehabilitation session came despite the original judge who sentenced him to an indeterminate jail term for terror offences in 2012 ruling that he was a threat to the public.

That 2012 terror trial heard how Khan had also planned to blow up pubs and clubs, discussed building pipe bombs, and wanted to set up jihadi training camps in Kashmir.

He was also a known personal friend of the hate preacher Anjem Choudary.

In 2013 Khan’s sentence was revised after Court of Appeal judges including Justice Leveson gave him a 16-year jail term, meaning he could be automatically released after eight years, half of his sentence.

That halving of sentences was introduced by Labour in 2005, allowing criminals to serve the second half under licence.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan visits the scene.

But on Saturday, Labour’s Yvette Cooper launched an attack on the government, saying on Twitter: “Usman Khan was sentenced for serious terror offence in Feb 2012. Thought to be so dangerous by judge he was given IPP (indeterminate) sentence to prevent release if still serious threat. Instead he was released 6 yrs later without Parole Board assessment. How could this be allowed to happen?’’

The Home Secretary Priti Patel fired back: “Because legislation brought in by your government in 2008 meant that dangerous terrorists had to automatically be released after half of their jail term.

“Conservatives changed the law in 2012 to end your automatic release policy but Khan was convicted before this.’

Jonathon Hall, a government appointed independent reviewer of terrorism legislation told Channel 4 that there were 29 people released up until the middle of 2019 who had been convicted of previous terrorism offences. He said one of those released was also from Indeterminate sentence for public protection ‘’which means it was a very serious offence’’. He said while all will not reoffend, the security services had a very difficult job in determining who remains a threat.

A bystander who grabbed the knife off terrorist Usman Khan who was later shot and killed by police after stabbing two people to death.

The Conservatives had gone into this election campaign with plans for a toughening of judicial procedures. Mr Johnson said: “It does not make sense for us as a society to be putting people convicted of terrorist offences, of serious violent offences, out on early release.”

“I’ve said for a long time that I think that the practice of automatic early release … simply isn’t working.

“You have good evidence of how that isn’t working, I’m afraid, with this case.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said questions such as whether or not Khan was given a deradicalisation process needed answers “urgently” and called for the criminal justice system to be investigated “fully”.

Police surround Khan on London Bridge moments before shooting him.

“We have to ensure that the public are safe, that means supervision of prisoners in prison but it also means supervision of ex-prisoners when they are released ahead of the completion of their sentence, to have tough supervision of them to make sure this kind of danger is not played out on the public in future.”

Vajahat Sharif, the lawyer who represented Khan before he was jailed in 2012, said the convicted terrorist had turned his back on radical Islam during his time in prison and had sought help to deradicalise. Mr Sharif told the ABC he had seen Khan as recently as last year and was convinced he had reformed.

“While he was in custody he was engaging fully and completely with whatever the prison probation authorities required of him,” Mr Sharif said.

“On the face of it he was a success, he was doing very well so something has gone completely wrong.”

According to a letter sent to Mr Sharif’s office in 2012 from Belmarsh Prison and posted online, Kahn claimed he had been “immature” and no longer held the views he did when he was arrested.

“(I) want “live my life as a good Muslim and also a good citizen of Britain,” he wrote.

The parents of Sara Zelenak, who was slain in the 2017 London Bridge attack said Khan should have been monitored.

Ms Zelenak’s mother Julie Wallace said the latest attack was painful and when she first heard the news all the hairs on her arm stood on end.

“I don’t think they have made a good choice, if they are going to just let him out they have to watch him,’’ Ms Wallace, 52, told News Corp.

“It is not strong enough, they have got to look after people.’’

Ms Zelenak died when three terrorists rammed their vehicle on London Bridge and then rampaged through the Borough Market on June 3, 2017. She had slipped in her high heels and was the first stabbing victim. Another Australian, nurse Kirsty Boden, was also killed in that attack.

The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for Friday’s horror.

“The person who carried out the London attack … was a fighter from the Islamic State, and did so in response to calls to target citizens of coalition countries,” IS said, referring to a multi-country alliance against the group.