Sudesh Amman, who was shot dead by police following a stabbing attack in south London, was a convicted terrorist who had recently been released from prison and was under surveillance.
The 20-year-old, who was jailed for possessing and distributing terrorist documents in December 2018, had been freed in the past six weeks.He was released despite a warning that he posed a continued risk, prompting renewed concerns about how convicted terrorists are dealt with in the justice system.
The attack has fuelled discussion about what the UK should do with those who commit terrorist attacks.
Labour leadership contestant Rebecca Long-Bailey lays the blame squarely at the Tories’ door.
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Tory cuts to the criminal justice and prison system, as well as our emergency services, have left us all unsafe.
Probation and rehabilitation programmes have been cut back or privatised, and you can’t have security on the cheap.
We need to completely overhaul the criminal justice system. It’s currently fostering — rather than helping to tackle — violent extremism.
Boris Johnson is pushing for lengthier prison sentences, but underfunded prisons are acting as incubators of radicalisation.
The government’s counter-terror strategy is clearly failing.
The ‘Prevent’ programme in particular has alienated the Muslim community and imperilled civil liberties. We need a new, community-based approach capable of rebuilding trust, alongside proper funding for local services, such as youth centres, that have been decimated by austerity.
Above all, the government’s approach to counter-terrorism and security is marked by a dangerous misallocation of resources.
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It’s no wonder that counter-terror police are struggling to keep on top of high-risk suspects when environmental protesters and student activists are being considered ‘extremists’ and monitored. It’s time to stop muddying the waters between mainstream civil society protest groups, such as on climate change, and violent extremism.”
