Convicted terrorists released from prison set to surge

Figures compiled by the Sentencing Council have revealed that over 40 per cent of the sentences for terrorism offences handed down over a 10-year period will have been served by the end of the year.

Reports in the Guardian have therefore claimed that police and UK’s security services are likely to face a surge in the number of convicted terrorists released from prison and face difficulties in assessing the unique threats posed by extremists back on the streets.

With more than 80 of the 193 terms issued for terrorism offences between 2007 and 2016 running out by the end of this year, it is expected that the number released will be higher as a result of prisoners eligible for release halfway through sentences, such as the Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary, who was jailed in September 2016 for five and a half years.

The Guardian has also found that all the terms given to people sentenced for funding terrorism, failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism, or found to be in possession of terrorist information, will be spent the end of 2018.