Six terrorists set to be freed in weeks unless new law is passed
The government wants to make sure offenders serve two-thirds of their sentence before they are considered eligible for release.
Wednesday 5 February 2020 17:16, UK
Ministers are facing a race against time to pass emergency anti-terror legislation after the Streatham attack, to stop the automatic release of any other terrorist.
The government has set itself a target of 27 February to rush a bill through parliament - as one offender is thought to be due for release on February 28, and around five more expected to be let out in March unless the new law is in force.
It comes as Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu praised his officers for their actions on Sunday but warned that "with 3,000 or so subjects of interest currently on our radar and many convicted terrorists soon due to be released from prison, we simply cannot watch all of them, all the time".
Convicted terrorist Sudesh Amman wore a fake suicide belt as he grabbed a knife from a shop in Streatham High Road, south London, on Sunday, before stabbing two bystanders.
He was shot dead by police.
The 20-year-old had been jailed for possessing and distributing terrorist documents in December 2018, but was freed automatically halfway through his sentence less than a fortnight ago.
He was put under 24-hour police surveillance on his release, and sources have described him as an "extremely concerning individual".
On Monday, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said the urgent legislation was needed to make sure offenders serve two-thirds of their sentence before they are considered eligible for release.
At that point, he wants their case to be considered by a panel of specialist judges and psychiatrists on the Parole Board.
There are 224 terrorists in jail in Britain, with most thought to be holding Islamist extremist views, according to the latest published figures to the end of September.
As many as 50 terrorists could be freed from jail this year, figures suggest.
Earlier, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said the undercover officers following Amman would not have been "providing man-to-man marking".
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"They are there covertly and that is a deliberate thing," she told the London Assembly on Wednesday.
"I wish I could assure the public that everybody who poses a risk on the streets could be subject to some sort of thing that would stop them being able to stab anybody ever, but it is clearly not possible."
A team of 75 officers is working to gather evidence for the coroner about Amman's rampage.
Watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct is also investigating how he came to be fatally shot, as is standard when any police operation ends in a death.