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British PM Boris Johnson Says Releasing London Bridge Terror Suspect Early Was a Big 'Mistake'

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pointed the finger at Britain’s prison system for the Friday attack on London Bridge that killed two people and injured three others.

Johnson said it was a “mistake” to have given the suspect in the attack early release from prison, where he had been jailed on a terrorism charge.

Prior to chairing an emergency meeting with other U.K. government officials, Johnson said he had “long argued” it is a “mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out of prison early and it is very important that we get out of that habit and that we enforce the appropriate sentences for dangerous criminals, especially for terrorists,” according to Sky News.

“This guy was out … on automatic early release and I have long said that this system simply isn’t working,” Johnson also said Friday.

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“It is very important that we get out of that habit and that we enforce the appropriate sentences for dangerous criminals, especially for terrorists, that I think the public will want to see,” Johnson said, as Fox News reported.

He also promised to “toughen up sentences,” according to the BBC.

“I’ve said for a long time now, that I think the practice of automatic, early release where we cut a sentence in half and let really serious and violent offenders out early, simply isn’t working,” Johnson said. “And I think you’ve had some very good evidence of how that isn’t working, I’m afraid, with this case.”

The suspect 28-year-old Usman Khan, who was killed Friday by police, had been convicted in 2012 of “terrorism offenses,” Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu said.

He was freed in 2018 in what the British call “on license,” which is comparable to parole.

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Khan had been jailed for taking part in a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange.

Britain’s Parole Board said there was no decision to grant Khan release, and that he simply served the portion of his sentence that was required and was then freed.

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“Given the seriousness of this attack, it is understandable that there is speculation about the attacker’s release from prison,” the board said in a statement, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.

“The Parole Board can confirm it had no involvement with the release of the individual identified as the attacker, who appears to have been released automatically on license (as required by law), without ever being referred to the Board,” its statement said.

“Whilst we are still in the early stages of the investigation, at this time we are not actively seeking anyone else in relation to the attack,” Basu, the counterterrorism chief for Met Police, said, adding that “no other people were involved in this attack and that there is no outstanding threat to the public.”

“The circumstances, as we currently understand them, are that the attacker attended an event earlier on Friday afternoon at Fishmonger’s Hall called ‘Learning Together,” Basu said.

“We believe that the attack began inside before he left the building and proceeded onto London Bridge, where he was detained and subsequently confronted and shot by armed officers.”

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Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack can be reached at jackwritings1@gmail.com.
Location
New York City
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Topics of Expertise
Politics, Foreign Policy, Military & Defense Issues




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