AN al-Qaeda “mastermind” linked to the 7/7 attacks is set to walk free in Britain despite cops saying he remains a risk.
Haroon Aswat, 50, cannot be fully assessed by the justice system due to mental health treatment.
Terrorist Haroon Aswat is set to walk free in Britain despite cops saying he remains a risk, pictured with Sheikh Abu Hamza, left
PA:Press AssociationAswat has been linked to the tragic 7/7 attacks[/caption]
PhotoshotOn Tuesday, High Court judge Mr Justice Jay said: ‘The defendant’s treatment has been effective and his release from detention is expected in the relatively near future’[/caption]
The ex-Abu Hamza accomplice, jailed in the US, will leave a secure unit for Yorkshire.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “He could still be a real danger.”
Aswat helped hate preacher Abu Hamza set up a US terror camp.
While caged in the US in 2022 he told a British shrink: “I am a terrorist”, and said he’d kill Jews, Christians and Muslim enemies.
He has spent the past two years at a UK psychiatric hospital but will return to Batley, West Yorks.
Shockingly, rules surrounding his treatment have prevented police and the justice system from fully assessing his suitability for release.
Mr Philp said last night: “It is totally unacceptable that full risk assessments cannot be carried out.
“I call on the Government to urgently change the law.
“Those who pose a danger to the public should be taken off our streets.
“That’s non-negotiable.”
Ex-Met counter-terror chief Peter Clarke warned: “There have been far too many tragic cases in the UK where terrorists have been released and gone on to murder.”
In 1999 Aswat helped Hamza set up an al-Qaeda camp in Oregon.
In 2001 he trained at a camp in Afghanistan, and in 2002 stayed at an al-Qaeda safe house in Pakistan where he met two 7/7 bombers.
In 2005, police traced 20 calls to a phone linked to Aswat made by the 7/7 bombers, hours before their attack left 52 dead and more than 800 injured in central London.
That year Aswat was arrested in Zambia while possessing a terror manual and suspected bomb parts.
He was deported to the UK and held under a US arrest warrant.
Aswat fought extradition on mental health grounds but after a nine-year battle was sent to the US in 2014.
A year later he pleaded guilty to terror charges.
His 20-year jail term was cut to seven years because of time detained at Broadmoor Hospital.
Before his US release in 2022 Aswat told visiting psychiatrist Dr Richard Taylor: “I am a terrorist.”
Aswat has schizoaffective disorder. Symptoms can include unpredictable and aggressive behaviour.
Dr Taylor warned Aswat might radicalise impressionable recruits.
On his return to the UK in late 2022 Aswat was detained at Bethlem Royal Hospital, South London.
His move there, under provisions of the Mental Health Act, is understood to have been spurred by national security concerns.
On Tuesday, High Court judge Mr Justice Jay ruled: “The defendant’s treatment has been effective. His release from detention is expected in the relatively near future. I understand he will return to his family in Yorkshire.”
Mr Justice Jay noted: “No formal terrorist risk assessment has been carried out since the defendant’s return here. The circumstances of his detention have precluded that.
“However, on the basis of the material which is available the defendant has been assessed by various police officers — including the senior officer dealing with this case — that he remains a risk to national security.”
The judge granted a notification order which means Aswat must register his address and bank details with police.
He will not be under surveillance or wear a tag, and can travel abroad if he tells cops in advance.
Haroon cannot be fully assessed by the justice system due to mental health treatmentPA:Press Association
Times Newspapers LtdAswat had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder[/caption]
‘LAY OFF OUR JUDGES’ ROW
By Jack Elsom
LABOUR’S Attorney General was under fire last night for saying those who criticise judges are a threat to democracy.
Lord Richard Hermer risked a row with boss Sir Keir Starmer who has hit out at one ruling.
He said: “We are entering a dangerous moment in which people are attacking judges on a personal basis. That creates a threat to the rule of law.”
But Tory Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “If judges step into the political arena they should expect a political response.”
The PM has disagreed with a judge who granted a Palestinian family the right to live in the UK via a Ukraine visa scheme.
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