THE UK government said Wednesday (27) it will clamp down on "no-go" areas in jails carved out by extremist Islamist inmates who have been imposing Sharia law including floggings on other prisoners.
Justice secretary Dominic Raab accepted the findings of an official investigation, which said that other prisoners were at risk of being radicalised by extremists enjoying an overly tolerant regime in jails.
The review was commissioned after a spate of high-profile attacks, including one on London Bridge in 2019 when Usman Khan, a convicted terrorist who was on temporary release, stabbed two people to death.
Khairi Saadallah was given a whole-life sentence last year for murdering three men in a park in Reading, west of London, after he was befriended by a radical preacher while serving an earlier prison term.
"Prisons must not be allowed to become a second opportunity for committed terrorists whose attack plans are thwarted in the community," said Jonathan Hall, the government's reviewer of terror legislation.
FILE PHOTO: Floral tributes are left for Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones, who were killed in a terror attack, on December 2, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images)
Hall's investigation said Islamist radicals in jails had taken control of wings, creating Sharia courts to mete out punishments and barring non-Muslim guards from Friday prayers.
They have also separated out spaces in "kitchens and no-go areas" on the grounds that non-Muslims cannot handle halal food, creating "a regime within a regime", Raab said on LBC radio.
Prison staff were worried about responding for fear of being accused of racism, he acknowledged, vowing legal changes to protect guards and new investment to isolate the most dangerous radicals.
UK jails are housing a record 200 convicted terrorists, with another 200 who have terrorist links.
There are 28 places to sequester the most hardened radicals, but only nine are in use now, Raab said, blaming "crazy" legal challenges that isolation breached extremists' human rights.
"We are going to take a more decisive approach in our prisons, not allowing cultural and religious sensitivities to deter us from nipping in the bud early signs of terrorist risk," he said.
(AFP)
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)