Key Facts

• The Bill targets offenders like Usman Khan and Sudesh Amman who were released automatically halfway through their sentences.
• Usman Khan was sentenced for preparing terrorist acts and killed two people at Fishmongers’ Hall on 30 November last year.
• Sudesh Amman, released one week before the Streatham attack, had a sentence of three years and four months for distributing or promoting material intended to stir up religious hatred.
• The Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill aims to change the release point for offenders who have committed a relevant terrorism offence.
• There are about 50 terrorist offenders or those with a terrorist link currently in the system.
• Extra resources of £90 million were announced for counter-terrorism, additional to an overall package of £900 million.
• About 220 people are serving time for terrorist offences.
• Around 50 of these individuals will be affected by the legislation due for automatic early release.
• Different types of sentences include standard determinate, extended determinate, historical IPP, and SOPC.
• The Bill affects those serving sentences for specified terrorist or related offences with a maximum penalty above two years.
• Only low-level offences like failure to comply with a police cordon are excluded by the threshold.
• The counter-terrorism Bill will address post-release conditions and TPIMs regime to manage risks after release.
• The Bill prevents automatic release of terrorist offenders in the coming weeks and months.
• A cohort of specialist Parole Board members trained to deal with terrorist and extremist offenders will handle additional cases.
• The legislation is proposed as emergency, retrospective measures due to current legal risks.
• Ian Acheson's report on Islamist extremism in prisons was published in August 2016.
• Sixty-nine of Mr Acheson's recommendations were consolidated into a total of eleven, eight of which are being implemented according to the Justice Secretary.
• There are currently 18,912 frontline prison officers, not yet back to 2010 levels.
• In 2019, 35% of prison officers had been in post for less than two years.
• There are 224 terrorist prisoners in England and Wales, with 173 assessed as having extreme Islamist views.
• Levels of self-harm were disturbingly high, increasing by nearly one-fifth compared to the previous year.
• In 2018-19, there were 33,222 assaults in prisons, including 23,592 prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and 10,059 assaults on staff.
• The Probation Service was part-privatised by the Government in 2014, resulting in an 'irredeemably flawed' system according to Dame Glenys Stacey.
• The Bill moves automatic point of release to two thirds, which will be considered by the Parole Board in all cases.
• Bob Neill represents a London constituency where many constituents work near areas affected by terrorism.
• Lord Bingham's principles on the rule of law are cited as relevant to the necessity and proportionality of the Bill.
• The Bill moves the release point from half-way to two thirds.
• The Parole Board must conduct a risk assessment before early release.
• There have been reforms of the Parole Board since the Worboys case.
• The Justice Committee in the last Parliament urged changes to parole operation.
• The Bill addresses a specific and discrete problem involving terrorist offenders.
• Mr Acheskin, who was favourably mentioned, has more to contribute to the discussion on expertise for addressing terrorism.
• There are concerns about radicalisation material reaching prisoners like the Streatham attacker while in prison.
• The legislation addresses radicalization and the need to monitor released prisoners.
• Little progress has been made since the Acheson review recommendations were published in 2016.
• Only one specialist separation unit, at HMP Frankland, is currently operational.
• Prison officers have limited input in current deradicalisation programmes.
• Special units were established during previous years for prisoners involved in paramilitary activities.
• Prison officers can distinguish genuine participants from those seeking to satisfy the Parole Board.
• Kieran Mullan pays tribute to his predecessor Laura Smith who had frontline experience as a primary school teacher.
• The constituency of Crewe and Nantwich includes various villages such as Haslington, Willaston, Wistaston, Hough, Basford, Shavington, Barthomley, Weston, Leighton and Wybunbury.
• Celia Brown runs a monthly charity bingo club in Hough village that has raised thousands of pounds over the years.
• The Bill aims to prevent early release of terrorist offenders without a Parole Board assessment.
• There have been recent terror attacks in London Bridge and Streatham.
• The Home Affairs Committee heard concerns about short sentences for radicalisers coming out early.
• The MP supports the legislation but criticizes rushed legislative processes.
• There is no chair in place for the Prevent review.
• Sudesh Amman was due to be released this January, highlighting challenges with existing legislation.
• Former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Lord Anderson, noted that individuals serving full sentences may not have further licensing conditions attached upon release.
• Cash is concerned about the restrictive nature of the Bill.
• He mentions the need for longer-term assessments by the Justice Committee.
• Cash proposes excluding the Human Rights Act 1998 from clause 1 of the Bill.
• Cash argues that the Bill does not create new criminal offences but prevents automatic early release for terrorists convicted before or after the Bill's enactment.
• The amendment aims to ensure courts give retrospective effect to the Bill despite potential legal challenges under Article 7 of the ECHR.
• Cash expects further consideration and indication from the House of Lords on this issue.
• The Bill may be subject to legal challenge, according to Lord Carlile.
• The Lord Chancellor explained considerations relating to Article 7 of the European convention on human rights.
• The Bill does not apply to Northern Ireland due to differences in sentence calculation and could engage article 7 considerations there.
• Two licences under the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 have been revoked since 1998.
• Since 2013, approximately 163 convicted terrorists have been released early from prison.
• The statement excludes those serving less than one year in sentences.
• Early release undermines the morale of security services and stretches their capacity.
• The statement highlights the lack of proper qualifications and certifications for imams who work with inmates.
• There are concerns about radicalisation being perpetuated by certain imams in prisons.
• Lessons should be learned from methods used in Indonesia, UAE, and Saudi Arabia on deradicalization.
• Current regulations do not adequately scrutinize the background or qualifications of madrassah operators.
• The Bill aims to restrict early release for terrorists.
• Paul Holmes mentions his personal experiences with terrorist attacks in London.
• The perpetrators of recent attacks were released automatically halfway through their sentences, highlighting the need for reform.
• The Bill aims to end automatic release retrospectively.
• It seeks to move the release point from half way to two thirds for future offences.
• Legal commentators argue that retrospective application may interfere with judicial decisions.
• The Bill ends halfway release for terrorist offenders.
• Offenders cannot be released without serving at least two-thirds of their sentence.
• A new minimum sentence of 14 years is introduced for the worst terrorist offenders.
• Counter-terrorism funding will increase to £906 million, a year-on-year increase of £90 million.
• Immediate investment of £500,000 in support provided by the victims of terrorism unit.
• There are about 220 extremist prisoners in the UK's prison system.
• Ian Acheson argued that the current management system is 'broken'.
• Mohiussannath Chowdhury was recently convicted for preparing acts of terrorism and had access to other extremists during his time at Belmarsh Prison.
• There are three separation units, but only one has a small number of residents.
• The Bill will increase the threshold so that two thirds of a sentence is served by terrorist offenders.
• The attack on Westminster Bridge hit close to home for the MP, who represents the constituency where one of the attackers was raised.
• The MP supports institutional protections and meaningful rehabilitation in prisons.
• About 50 convicted terrorists would be due for automatic release under current rules before the end of the month.
• Terrorist offenders will only be eligible for early release if they pass a thorough risk assessment by the Parole Board.
• Counter-terrorism resources in prisons are being increased, including training frontline staff to identify threats.
• The number of specialist counter-terrorism probation officers will double.
• Measures after release include notification requirements, travel restrictions, and imposed curfews.
• The statement discusses two recent attacks: Usman Khan at Fishmongers’ Hall and Sudesh Amman in Streatham.
• Many Members agree that automatic release of some terrorist offenders after serving half their sentence poses an unacceptable risk to the public.
• The Government is acting with urgency through emergency legislation.
• Only 50 offenders are affected by this legislation.
• A Parole Board assessment at the halfway point is included for SOPCs.
• The prisons budget has increased from £2.55 billion to £2.9 billion between 2017-18 and 2019-20, a 15% increase.
• There will be an additional £156 million invested in the prison estate’s physical condition next year.
• A £2.5 billion programme to build 10,000 additional prison places is underway.
• The TPIM regime was strengthened in 2015.
• MAPPA is effective as seen in the case of Sudesh Amman.
• The Prevent review has a statutory deadline of August 2020.
• 20,000 extra police officers are being added.
• £85 million more funding for the Crown Prosecution Service.
• More Crown court sitting days are planned in the coming year.