Anjem Choudary has public speaking ban lifted

Radical preacher Anjem Choudary has seen his ban on speaking in public lifted as licence conditions which were imposed after his release from prison come to an end.

As well as being prohibited from speaking in public, his internet and mobile phone use was restricted and he was banned from being in contact with people who may be suspected of extremist-related offences without prior approval.

Jailed five years ago after being convicted of inviting support for the ISIS terror group, the extremist left Belmarsh high-security jail on licence in 2018. Choudary, from Ilford in east London, was freed automatically half-way through a five-and-a-half year sentence.

Reports claim that a string of more than 20 strict licence conditions which Choudary has been subject to since his release expired on 17 July.  Whether Counter Terror Police and MI5 will continue to track Choudary or consider him a person of interest has not been confirmed.

Once a leading figure in the now-banned group al-Muhajiroun (ALM), the preacher has caused controversy for a number of decades, despite staying on the right side of the law for the majority of them. Since the 1990s, Choudary has voiced controversial views on Sharia law while building up a following of thousands through social media, demonstrations and lectures around the world.

Others previously linked to ALM include Michael Adebolajo, one of the murderers of Fusilier Lee Rigby, and Khuram Butt, the ringleader of the London Bridge terror attack.

A senior security source told PA: "Disruptive measures - including jail terms and licence conditions - have had a substantial impact on the ability of ALM to propagate their toxic ideology.

"While the group cynically preys on vulnerable individuals, its spokespeople have hidden behind their cult-like status while encouraging others to commit acts of violence. The group breeds on propaganda, and should be starved of the oxygen of publicity it relies on to spread hatred."