Tri-Service

Hate Preacher Conviction 'Took Too Long'

Anjem Choudary Convicted Of Drumming Up Support For IS

The Government's Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation has expressed concern at the amount of time it has taken authorities to secure a conviction for hate preacher Anjem Choudary.

The conviction of Choudary for drumming up support for Islamic State shows there is "room for improvement" in how radical preachers are handled by the criminal justice system.

Raffaello Pantucci, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute, has also raised concerns that jailing Choudary could end up negatively influencing the prison population although it would impact his influence to the wider population.

His conviction has come at a time of high alert over radicalisation in prisons, with a government run inquiry into the problem calling for introducing new units to isolate a small number of inmates from the rest of the prison population.

Quilliam Founder Majid Nawaz debates with Choudry on Newsnight

The British-born 49-year-old encouraged backing for the terrorist group IS in a series of talks posted on YouTube.

He also recognised that a caliphate - a symbolic Islamic state - had been created under an IS leader after it was announced on June 29 2014, the Old Bailey heard.

Despite being a leading figure in the banned group al-Muhajiroun (ALM), and a series of former supporters going on to be convicted of terrorism, Choudary stayed on the right side of the law for two decades before investigators were able to pin him down.

Police finally pounced after Choudary, along with three other influential radicals, lent their names to an oath of allegiance to IS which was posted on the internet.

The trial heard that the preacher, viewed by officers as a key force in radicalising young Muslims, had been the "mouthpiece" of Omar Bakri Mohammed - the founder of the banned extremist group ALM.

He courted publicity by voicing controversial views on Sharia law, while building up a following of thousands through social media, demonstrations and lectures around the world.

In one speech in March 2013, Choudary set out his ambitions for the Muslim faith to "dominate the whole world". He said:

"Next time when your child is at school and the teacher says 'What do you want when you grow up? What is your ambition?', they should say 'To dominate the whole world by Islam, including Britain - that is my ambition'."

Choudary faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison, although the judge admitted:

"There is very little in the way of precedent in the way of sentencing. Although this has been an offence under an Act of Parliament for some time, it's very far from being one of the most common."

Supporters included Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, the murderers of Lee Rigby, and suspected IS executioner Siddhartha Dhar.