Boris Johnson has vowed to review Britain’s sentencing system after the London Bridge terror attack saw a convicted terrorist who was released early from prison stab two people to death.
The Ministry of Justice launched an inquiry to examine licence conditions of up to 70 violent terrorists who are believed to have been freed from jail.
The Prime Minister also pledged to introduce minimum 14-year sentences for serious terrorist offences, while some convicted might never be released, and to scrap early release if he wins a majority.
He said: It’s absolutely clear that we can’t carry on with the failed approaches of the past.’
Boris Johnson, pictured at the scene on London Bridge yesterday with Priti Patel, is pushing for tougher sentences on terrorists in the wake of the attack
The Prime Minister spoke out amid growing outrage over the early release from prison of Usman Khan, whose rampage on Friday came after he served half his sentence for terror offences after he was initially given an indeterminate sentence.
Terrorists out on licence are now expected to face more frequent meetings with authorities and face harsher restrictions on their licences, according to The Telegraph.
Mr Johnson said he was outraged London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan, pictured, had been released early from prison
Johnson also said terrorists would serve ‘every day’ of their sentence, ending automatic halfway release.
Visiting the scene yesterday, he said: ‘The terrorist who attacked yesterday was sentenced 11 years ago under laws passed in 2008 which established automatic early release.
‘This system has got to end – I repeat, this has got to end, as I’ve been saying for four months. If you are convicted of a serious terrorist offence, there should be a mandatory minimum sentence of 14 years – and some should never be released.
‘Further, for all terrorism and extremist offences the sentence announced by the judge must be the time actually served – these criminals must serve every day of their sentence, with no exceptions.
‘These simple changes, in line with what I’ve been saying since becoming Prime Minister, would have prevented this attack.
‘I believe they will help stop further attacks and these changes will be made urgently in the New Year if I am Prime Minister and have a majority in Parliament.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday toured the scene of the London Bridge terror attack along with Home Secretary Priti Patel, who received a briefing from the Met Police’s Commissioner Cressida Dick, left. Mr Johnson was accompanied by City of London Police Commissioner Ian Dyson
Johnson, who visited the scene of the attacks with Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday, said if the electorate returned him with a majority, he would take advantage of the UK’s post-Brexit freedoms to reform the human rights laws.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn said convicted terrorists should ‘not necessarily’ have to serve the entirety of their prison sentences.
The Labour leader said when convicted terrorists are let out of prison ‘depends on the circumstances’ as he was grilled in the aftermath of the London Bridge attack.
Asked if he believed that people convicted of terrorism offences like Khan needed to serve a full prison sentence, he replied: ‘I think it depends on the circumstances, it depends on the sentence but crucially depends on what they’ve done in prison.’
Interviewer Sophy Ridge then asked: ‘So not necessarily then?’
Jeremy Corbyn, pictured on Sky News today, said terrorists should ‘not necessarily’ serve all of their jail term
Mr Corbyn said: ‘No, not necessarily, no. I think there has to be an examination of how our prison services work and crucially what happens to them on release from prison because I need to know whether or not the Parole Board were involved in his release, apparently they were not, they made that statement quite quickly after the release … after [Friday’s] terrible incident.
‘Secondly, there were apparently no probation service involvement in monitoring this former prisoner who after all had only served half his sentence and he came out I think a year ago and there has to be an examination of what goes on in the prison because prisons ought to be a place where people are put away because of major serious offences but also a place where rehabilitation takes place.’
Asked what Labour would do to change the current criminal justice system, specifically regarding terror offences, Mr Corbyn said funding was a crucial issue.
He said: ‘Well we’d do a number of things. One, properly fund our prison service so that the prison officers are able to do their job both as prison officers as well as educators as well as people that deal with dangerous prisoners who committed very dangerous, very serious offences.
‘Secondly, that there be a psychological assessment of somebody in his situation before they are released to see if they are actually a danger, an ever present danger to society and that the Parole Board be involved in making that decision whether they go out ahead of full sentence and after that, we have a probation service worthy of the name.’
On the other side of the spectrum, Johnson has vowed to toughen sentencing laws.
He said: ‘Since becoming Prime Minister, I’ve said we need a big change of direction on violent crime and security.
‘What I have seen over the last 24 hours has made me angry – it’s absolutely clear that we can’t carry on with the failed approaches of the past.’
He added: ‘This is why I’ve also said that we must keep violent offenders and terrorists in jail longer and end the automatic early release system.
‘We took some steps to do this before the election. However, due to the broken hung parliament that was preoccupied with blocking Brexit, we could not do more.’
A Sentencing Bill included in the Queen’s Speech in October, which became defunct once the election was called, would have changed the automatic release point from halfway to two thirds for adult offenders serving sentences of four years or more for serious violence or sexual offences.
Judges can already impose extended sentences for offenders assessed as ‘dangerous’, where they will serve two thirds, but the proposed legislation would make the longer jail terms mandatory for certain offences.
Mr Johnson said: ‘Jeremy Corbyn is setting out plans to weaken our system and make it more difficult for our security services to stop people who want to do us harm. He wants to give more power to human rights lawyers, which would make us less safe’
Johnson said that, from surveillance and operations to sentencing and licensing conditions, the balance of the whole legal system must be shifted in a “much tougher direction” against serious criminals and terrorists.
He also warned last night that atrocities such as the London Bridge attack would be more difficult to avert if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister said: ‘Jeremy Corbyn is setting out plans to weaken our system and make it more difficult for our security services to stop people who want to do us harm. He wants to give more power to human rights lawyers, which would make us less safe.
‘Jeremy Corbyn has a totally different view of security and a totally different set of policies. I do not believe he can provide the leadership on security this country needs.’
Tory strategists intend to use the coming days to highlight the differences between the Labour manifesto, which pledges to ‘ensure the powers exercised by the security services are proportionate and used in accordance with human rights’ and ‘end indefinite detention’, with Mr Johnson’s plans to ‘update the Human Rights Act so that our security services can defend our country against terrorism’.
The Tory manifesto states: ‘The ability of our security services to defend us against terrorism and organised crime is critical.
‘We will update the Human Rights Act and administrative law to ensure that there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government’.
Priti Patel blamed Labour for the fact that Khan – who was jailed for terror offences in 2012 – had been released on licence in December 2018 after his initial sentence was reduced on appeal.
After Labour’s Yvette Cooper asked on Twitter why Khan was released early, Ms Patel replied: ‘Because legislation brought in by your government in 2008 meant that dangerous terrorists had to automatically be released after half of their jail term.
‘The Conservatives changed the law in 2012 to end your automatic release policy but Khan was convicted before this.’
But despite Patel’s claims, different sentences were still available at the time to ensure that a dangerous offender such as Khan would not have been automatically released after serving half his sentence.
The Parole Board said it had no involvement in his release, with Khan appearing ‘to have been released automatically on licence (as required by law)’. Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said last night that Khan had been subject to an ‘extensive list of licence conditions’ on his release and that ‘to the best of my knowledge’ he was complying.
Mr Corbyn concentrated yesterday on what he said appeared to be the failure of the prison service. ‘Was he [Khan] given a de-radicalisation programme?’ the Labour leader asked. ‘If prisons continue to be understaffed, overcrowded and with a lot of prisoners not being properly supervised, then I think there is a danger to everybody in the future.’