Streatham cops execute early release mentalist Sudesh Amman?

[Whitehall_Bin_Men]

Questions for investigators over surveillance of attacker
Sudesh Amman would not have been subjected to resource-intensive monitoring without serious concern
Streatham attack: as it happened
Nick Hopkins
Sun 2 Feb 2020 17.16 EST First published on Sun 2 Feb 2020 12.52 EST
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/feb/02/streatham-attacker-pol ice-surveillance-monitored

Streatham attack: police shoot man dead after 'terror related' stabbing – video report
While the immediate and urgent focus of the emergency services after the stabbings in south London will be the victims, the police and MI5 will swiftly be reviewing what they knew about the perpetrator, after the revelation that he was under surveillance at the time of the incident.

Following the police statement saying that officers were present “as part of a proactive Counter Terrorism operation” there will inevitably be questions about why the man – now named as 20-year-old Sudesh Amman – was under surveillance, for how long, and whether officers had chances to intervene before he launched his attack.

A Whitehall source said: “He was under surveillance, that is what allowed police to do their job so quickly. It could have been much worse than it was.”

Putting someone under surveillance is not done lightly, and for good reason. It would require a senior officer in the Metropolitan police to authorise “directed” surveillance in a public place, or possibly the home secretary to sign a warrant to allow more intrusive surveillance of an individual at their home, or their workplace.

We now know that Amman was known to the authorities. He had been freed only days ago after serving half of his sentence of more than three years for the possession and distribution of extremist material. The surveillance could indicate that they might have feared an attack was imminent.

Streatham attack: police shoot man dead after 'terror related' stabbing – video report
Neither the police nor MI5 has the resources to put a large number of people under surveillance at any one time. It is massively resource-intensive, potentially requiring teams of officers working to cover 24-hour shifts; which is why investigators prefer to monitor the communications of people they are worried about, until they believe there is a need to escalate.

It is far too early to know exactly what happened in this case. And is worth remembering that MI5 says it is conducting hundreds of counter-terrorism investigations simultaneously and has 3,000 “subjects of interest”. The agency speaks of having a larger pool of 20,000 people “who have been subjects of interest in previous terrorism investigations”. The task for the agency – and for the counter-terrorism police with whom they work – is complex and involves high stakes.

There is another truth: the more complex a potential terrorist attack, the better the chances are of it being foiled by the police and Britain’s intelligence agencies. The most difficult attacks to predict, and to prevent, involve the “lone wolf”.


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[Whitehall_Bin_Men]

Woops! No release assessment by the Parole Board!

The jihadis who slipped through the net: How Streatham knifeman Sudesh Amman is latest terrorist to carry out an attack while on British authorities' radar
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7960591/Sudesh-Amman-latest-j ihadi-attacker-strike-known-authorities.html

By Alexander Robertson For Mailonline
06:09 EST 03 Feb 2020 , updated 08:42 EST 03 Feb 2020

Sudesh Amman was able to stab people in Streatham despite close monitoring
He was released from jail in January under 'very stringent' licencing conditions
Second convicted terrorist to carry out a knife attack in Britain within ten weeks
London Bridge and Manchester attackers were also known to security services
The convicted terrorist who went on a knife rampage in south London yesterday is the latest in a growing list of Islamists to strike while on the radar of security services.


Sudesh Amman was able to stab two people on Streatham high street despite being under close surveillance by MI5 and anti-terror police following his release from jail.

He was freed just a few days ago under 'very stringent' licencing conditions, meaning armed police who were tracking him arrived on the scene in moments.

But officers were unable to prevent him from knifing one man in the stomach and a female cyclist in the back before he was eventually shot dead outside Boots chemist.

Amman, 20, becomes the second convicted terrorist to carry out a knife attack in Britain within ten weeks, following a similar rampage by London Bridge attacker Usman Khan.

Sudesh Amman +20
Sudesh Amman
Usman Khan +20
Usman Khan
Armed police shoot dead extremist Sudesh Amman, who was wearing a fake suicide vest, after he grabbed a knife from a shop and stabbed a man and a woman in a brutal high-street rampage in Streatham, South London, at about 2pm yesterday +20
Armed police shoot dead extremist Sudesh Amman, who was wearing a fake suicide vest, after he grabbed a knife from a shop and stabbed a man and a woman in a brutal high-street rampage in Streatham, South London, at about 2pm yesterday

Usman Khan, 28, killed two people at Fishmongers' Hall in 2019

Khan, 28, was shot dead by police on London Bridge in November after killing two people at a nearby rehabilitation conference while out on licence for terror offences.

The son of a taxi driver, he got an indeterminate jail term in 2012 after admitting preparing terrorist acts, including the plot and starting a terror training camp in Pakistan.

In 2013 the Court of Appeal changed that to a 16-year fixed sentence which meant Khan had to serve only half.

While on licence in November, he stabbed Cambridge graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, to death while wearing a fake suicide vest at Fishmonger's Hall.

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In the aftermath of Khan's attack, it was claimed Khan had reformed and become a model prisoner while in prison, which helped him win permission to travel unescorted from his Stafford bedsit to London.

But Khan was moved to a Category A prison after he was involved in incidents of violence and threats to endanger staff.

Khan was released from HMP Woodhill in Buckinghamshire in December 2018.

Just over two months ago, on November 29, convicted terrorist Usman Khan (pictured) killed two Cambridge graduates before he was fatally shot on London Bridge +20
Just over two months ago, on November 29, convicted terrorist Usman Khan (pictured) killed two Cambridge graduates before he was fatally shot on London Bridge
Khuram Butt, 27, ringleader of 2017 London Bridge attack that killed eight people

The ringleader of the 2017 London Bridge attack that killed eight people, Butt had been the subject of a two-year investigation by security services.

However the chief coroner, in a report into the atrocity, said police and MI5 did not recognise the threat he posed.

Mark Lucraft QC said this was despite Butt's association with Islamic State fanatic Anjem Choudary and an appearance in the documentary The Jihadi Next Door.


The probe was twice suspended due to pressure on resources and the authorities did not pass on tip-offs about his extremism, including one from a family member.

There was also a two-month delay in translating a request from the Italian authorities for information about his fellow attacker Youssef Zaghba.

An Old Bailey inquest heard that Butt, who was an MI5 subject of interest (SIO), had looked at extremist material online in the months and years before the attack, including propaganda for so-called Islamic State, violent images and sermons from extremist preachers.

Bereaved families said MI5 and counter-terror police should review their assumptions about the weight placed on an SIO's so-called mindset material.

Mr Lucraft said there is no evidence investigators are not capable of making those judgments properly after police and security services pointed out that many SIOs possess such material.

Terrorist: Khuram Butt, 27, managed to get a job on the Tube four months after he appeared on a documentary about British jihadis. He is pictured in May 2016 at West Kensington station during his training period +20
Terrorist: Khuram Butt, 27, managed to get a job on the Tube four months after he appeared on a documentary about British jihadis. He is pictured in May 2016 at West Kensington station during his training period
Like Usman Khan and the 2017 London Bridge attackers Khuram Butt (pictured), Rachid Redouane and Yousef Zaghba, Amman went on a knife rampage wearing a fake suicide vest +20
Like Usman Khan and the 2017 London Bridge attackers Khuram Butt (pictured), Rachid Redouane and Yousef Zaghba, Amman went on a knife rampage wearing a fake suicide vest
Butt is pictured on the left appearing in 'The Jihadis Next Door' which aired on January 20, 2016 +20
Butt is pictured on the left appearing in 'The Jihadis Next Door' which aired on January 20, 2016
Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba (shown left to right) killed eight people before they themselves were shot dead +20
Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba (shown left to right) killed eight people before they themselves were shot dead
Khalid Masood, 52, who killed five people in 2017 Westminster attack

Masood killed five people and injured more than 50 after he mounted the pavement in his car outside the Houses of Parliament and went on a knife rampage.

The 52-year-old Briton was probed by MI5 from as early as 2004, with concerns high enough that he was classified as a threat to national security.

However the file on him was closed in 2012 as it was deemed that he was not considered a serious threat.

Masood, a violent criminal who picked up a string of convictions during his time living in Kent and Sussex, is believed to have converted to Islam while he was serving two prison sentences between 2000 and 2004.

After emerging from prison, he went to Saudi Arabia to teach English in trip a thought to have been inspired by his new-found spirituality.

When he returned from Saudi around 2009, he moved to Luton, a city in which a number of extremists and Islamic radicals were operating.

Theresa May would later tell the House of Commons that 52-year-old Masood was considered a 'peripheral' figure at the time.

Khalid Masood (pictured) murdered five people and injured 50 others when he drove his car into pedestrians outside the Houses of Parliament in March 2017 +20
Khalid Masood (pictured) murdered five people and injured 50 others when he drove his car into pedestrians outside the Houses of Parliament in March 2017
Hero police officer Keith Palmer (pictured) was stabbed 12 times with two knives after trying to stop the Westminster Bridge attacker +20
Hero police officer Keith Palmer (pictured) was stabbed 12 times with two knives after trying to stop the Westminster Bridge attacker
Westminster terrorist grins checking into hotel days before attack
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Khalid Masood's movements prior to the Westminster terror attack
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Salman Abedi, Manchester Arena bomber who killed 22 in 2017

Abedi, the jidahi terrorist who detonated a suicide vest at Manchester Arena in 2017 and killed 22 people, was also known to British security services.


But was not deemed a high risk, despite five community leaders reporting him for extremist views.

A report found a series of failures on behalf of security services, including how he had visited a category A extremist inmate in prison.

Counter-terror police were also alerted to Abedi frequently travelling to Libya from 2014 onwards but he was not made the subject of travel restrictions or monitoring.

Abedi's case was flagged for review, but was not re-examined before he slaughtered parents and children at the Ariana Grande concert

The Abedi family, originally from Libya, fled during the Gaddafi dictatorship with the father returning to fight with opposition forces when the uprising began in 2011.

Both brothers travelled to Libya in April 2017, then Salman returned alone before carrying out the suicide attack in Manchester.

He detonated his device at the end of the concert, with 353 people, including 175 children, around him in the foyer of the venue.

As well as the 22 dead, 16 people suffered serious injuries including paralysis, loss of limbs, internal injuries, and serious facial injuries involving complicated plastic surgery.

Abedi, the jidahi terrorist who detonated a suicide vest at Manchester Arena in 2017 and killed 22 people, was also known to British security services +20
Abedi, the jidahi terrorist who detonated a suicide vest at Manchester Arena in 2017 and killed 22 people, was also known to British security services
Salman Abedi +20
Salman Abedi
Ahmed Hassan, 18, whose homemade bomb failed to explode at Parsons Green Tube station in 2017

The 18-year-old Iraqi asylum-seeker left a homemade bomb on a District line commuter train in 2017 which partially exploded after the train arrived at Parsons Green station.

He claimed during an asylum interview that he had been trained to kill by ISIS against his will and spent several hours a day in a mosque under their command, receiving religious education.

After those comments, he was brought to the attention of MI5 on February 2 2016 during a discussion with Counter-Terrorism Policing, but he was never made a subject of interest.

Instead he was referred to the Channel mentoring scheme - part of the Prevent de-radicalisaton programme - in February 2016.

It was not until June 2016 that he was made an 'active' Channel case and nine formal meetings were then held of the joint agency Channel panel at which his case was discussed.

However, Hassan was never assigned a mentor, for a six-month period in 2017 there were no panel meetings, and at the time of the attack, the panel was considering closing his case.

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+20
The bucket bomb (pictured), wrapped in a Lidl cool bag, was built at Hassan's foster home +20
The bucket bomb (pictured), wrapped in a Lidl cool bag, was built at Hassan's foster home
Darren Osborne, 48, killed one in 2017 Finsbury Park mosque attack

Darren Osborne (pictured) drove a vehicle into a group of people gathered near a mosque in Finsbury Park +20
Darren Osborne (pictured) drove a vehicle into a group of people gathered near a mosque in Finsbury Park
Darren Osborne, from Cardiff, drove a vehicle into a group of people gathered near a mosque in Finsbury Park in north London on June 19, 2017, killing Makram Ali.

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He was said to have had an extensive criminal history dating back to 1984, including 33 convictions for 102 offences ranging from offences against the person to drugs and theft.

He had not been investigated by MI5 or Counter-Terrorism Police before launching his attack and was 'not known to be a member of, or have links to, any extremist right-wing groups.'

Osborne first appeared a court in his home town of Weston Super Mare aged 15 in 1984. Before the terror attack, he was last in court in 2014.

He had planned to drive into crowds attending a pro-Palestinian march inLondon in June last year, and he claimed he hoped to kill Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and London mayor Sadiq Khan.

But road closures meant he couldn't get near the march and, after driving around London looking for Muslim targets, he drove at a group of people outside the Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park.

Moment Finsbury Park attacker drives van into pedestrians
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Sudesh Amman, 20, stabbed two people in Streatham in 2020

Amman was a convicted terrorist under police surveillance having recently been freed from prison when he went on a knife rampage in Streatham.

The 20-year-old bearded Islamic fanatic, who was on licence and known for having a fascination with knives, dived into a local convenience store to steal a £3.99 blade before embarking on a bloody stabbing spree.

Wearing a fake suicide vest, he targeted pedestrians at random on the Sunday afternoon, stabbing one man in the stomach, before knifing a female cyclist in the back just after 2pm in Streatham, South London.

Armed police who had been following him closely, were on the scene within minutes, chasing him down the high street shouting 'stop' before opening fire, shooting him dead outside a Boots chemist.

He was jailed in December 2018 for three years and had served only half his more than three year sentence for the possession and distribution of extremist material.

Whitehall sources said he had been very recently released 'despite concerns over his conduct' because the law did not give them the power to keep him locked up.

He was let out at the end of January on 'very stringent' licencing conditions included a curfew, it is understood.

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Today, the Prime Minister is expected to come forward with new plans to further crack down on terrorist offenders.

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