A man in the United Kingdom who had gotten an early release from prison for a terrorism conviction was taken into custody by police after a search of his home revealed a potential terror plot.
Police in Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands arrested a 34-year-old man after assessing that evidence in his home sufficiently indicated that he was preparing a terrorist attack. He had been one of dozens of convicted terrorists released early from prison in the U.K., including Usman Khan, who carried out the deadly attack on the London Bridge on Friday.
West Midlands Police said that there was no immediate threat to public safety and they did not believe the man they arrested was involved in the London Bridge attack that claimed the lives of two people and injured many more. Police said the warrant executed on Saturday was “in connection to a wider ongoing review of existing licence [sic] conditions of convicted terrorism offenders.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson slammed the opposing Labour Party as being responsible for the early release of Khan and 74 other convicted terrorists. “I absolutely deplore that this man was out on the streets,” Johnson said of Khan. “I think it’s absolutely repulsive … His release was necessary under the law because of the automatic early release scheme under which he was sentenced. That was the reality. And that was brought in by Labour with the support of Jeremy Corbyn and the rest of the Labour Party.” The Labour Party advocated strongly for the removal of the Extended Sentence for Public Protection statute which required a full review by the parole board for any early releases.
UPDATE: The man arrested has been identified as Nazam Hussain who was involved in a terrorist Islamic State cell with Usman Khan. Both men were jailed along with seven others in 2012 for plotting to destroy several London landmarks. They were both free on early release, though police say Hussain was not involved in the London Bridge attack.
