Closing summary
That’s all from us for this evening. Here’s a summary of the day’s events:
- The justice secretary, Robert Buckland, outlined the government’s response to the Streatham terror attack. Concerns have been raised that Suddesh Amman had only just left prison for terror-related offences when he carried out the attack, which left three people injured.
- Boris Johnson said earlier that planned legislation preventing automatic early release of convicted terrorists should apply to existing as well as future prisoners. Changes in law generally do not apply retrospectively but Johnson said existing prisoners should not be exempt.
- Johnson also said rehabilitation of convicted terrorists rarely works, amid criticism that the government is not doing enough to de-radicalise prisoners. Speaking in London, the prime minister said: “The instances of success are really very few and we need to be frank about that.”
- Sudesh Amman was placed under full surveillance on the day of his release from jail and within days prompted such concern from counter-terrorism officials that those tailing him were ordered to be armed, the Guardian has learned. It is not clear whether the armed surveillance officers were carrying concealed pistols for their own personal protection or with the intention of making an arrest.
- The mother of the Streatham attacker, Sudesh Amman, has claimed he was radicalised in prison, describing him as a “nice, polite boy”. Haleema Faraz Khan said her son became more religious in Belmarsh, where he was imprisoned for terrorism offences in 2018. Britain’s top high-security jail is home to many convicted terrorists. Khan said he also became radicalised from watching material online. She said she visited her son at his bail hostel on Thursday and spoke to him hours before the attack.
- Islamic State (Isis) has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack, saying Amman was “an IS fighter and he carried out the attack in response to a call to target nationals”. Isis has a reputation for claiming almost all attacks fuelled by an extremist Islamic ideology, whether it was involved or not. However, the court heard when Amman was convicted for terrorist offences in 2018 that he was inspired by Isis.
If you’d like to read more, my colleague Jamie Grierson has this evening’s main story:
Responding to the criticism of the government’s funding of the justice system, Buckland insists public protection will continue to take a central focus.
[Burgon] made the general remarks about the justice system which we do hear from him on a regular basis. I’d simply remind him of the choices that we had to make at the beginning of the last decade, the difficulty we were placed in and the fact that we are increasing counter-terrorism funding and, indeed, bearing down upon the risk that we face.
There’s never been any question, any time of the Conservative government’s period in power that we have prioritised resources over the need to protect the public. We will continue to put public protection at the centre of our deliberations irrespective of the cost.
Buckland also says increased separation of prisoners who were convicted of terror offences from the general population would risk creating “colleges of terrorism” if it meant such offenders simply being held together.
Updated
The shadow justice secretary, Richard Burgon, criticised the government over cuts to the justice system during its time in power.
Tragically, the cuts that we have seen over the previous decade across our justice system to the police and to prisons, to probation and to the CPS, have left our communities less safe, which is why our justice system is in a state of crisis.
It will, of course, take time for the full facts around yesterday’s terrible attack to come out and we owe it to those affected to carefully assess what happened and take the action necessary to reduce the risk of similar attacks happening again.
Experts have raised serious concerns about the impact of austerity on the government’s programmes for dealing with terrorist offenders.
Burgon also said Labour would consider the proposals made by the UK government around sentencing.
We will look at the proposals that have been referred to in the secretary of state’s statement because our priority must be to keep the public safe, but to be clear – the government cannot use sentencing as a way of distracting from their record of bringing the criminal justice system to breaking point.
Updated
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the Labour MP for Streatham, where the attack happened, tells Buckland that her constituents remain shaken. She says: “The minister says that we are at the forefront of tackling terrorism and we have robust measures in place, but those measures didn’t prevent what happened in my constituency yesterday.”
She adds that she cannot fathom a situation where someone so dangerous as to need surveillance as soon as they are released from prison could be released. She asks Buckland for assurances that there were no measures existing that could have been taken to stop the attacker from leaving prison.
Buckland praises Ribeiro-Addy and says that the existing law meant that risk assessment was not a prerequisite of release. “It’s something that I do not accept, which is why I’ve announced that I’m going to deal with it in the form of emergency legislation,” he says.
Updated
Buckland was also asked to condemn anonymous government quotes from sources briefing against the role of lawyers in forming policy. Here is the anonymous No 10 source in question, quoted earlier in the day by Sky News’ Beth Rigby:
No 10 source “People are being let out who are known to be extremely dangerous because of terrible decisions made over past 15yrs & the shocking influence of lawyers on policy. It’s time for a radical change”
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) February 3, 2020
> New focus on crim justice system?
> Qs too over what goes on in jail
In response Buckland said: “We in this country stand for the rule of the law and due process – that is what marks us out as different from those who rely on the bullet and the bomb.”
Updated
The planned emergency legislation is likely to be controversial - and difficult to enact legally - because it is intended to apply to serving prisoners who were sentenced under different rules, and retrospective legal changes are unusual.
Buckland says that “given the exceptional nature of the terrorist cohort, exceptional approaches are needed”.
Answering concerns about whether the changes are compatible with the rule of law, he says that “the issue about retrospective effect is of course a key factor.” But he draws a distinction between the administration of a sentence - for example, when a prisoner is eligible for release - as opposed to its length or type. “Looking at the administration of sentences is entirely appropriate and what I would regard as a reasonable approach,” he says.
More of Buckland’s statement:
We cannot have the situation, as we saw tragically in yesterday’s case, where an offender – a known risk to innocent members of the public – is released early by automatic process of law without any oversight by the Parole Board.
We will be doing everything we can to protect the public, that is our primary duty.
We will, therefore, introduce emergency legislation to ensure an end to terrorist offenders getting released automatically having served half of their sentence with no check or review.
Updated
Government to introduce legislation preventing release of serving terror offenders without review
Buckland says that the government will introduce emergency legislation to end the automatic release of terrorist offenders after serving half their sentence in prison without review.
“Any release before the end of their sentence will depend on risk assessment by the parole board,” he says. The legislation will also apply to serving prisoners, he says.
Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, is now speaking to the House of Commons about the attack and the management of high-risk offenders. “I have long been clear that automatic halfway release is simply not right in all cases,” he says, referencing new measures set out after the recent London Bridge attack including longer sentences for serious terrorist offenders and the use of lie detector tests to assess risk as part of probation.
Many of these measures will be included in a new bill, he says. But he adds that yesterday’s incident “makes the case plainly for immediate action”.
Updated
Summary
- The justice secretary, Robert Buckland, will this evening outline the government’s response to the Streatham terror attack. Concerns have been raised that Suddesh Amman had only just left prison for terror-related offences when he carried out the attack, which left three people injured.
- Boris Johnson said earlier that planned legislation preventing automatic early release of convicted terrorists should apply to existing as well as future prisoners. Changes in law generally do not apply retrospectively but Johnson said existing prisoners should not be exempt.
- Johnson also said rehabilitation of convicted terrorists rarely works, amid criticism that the government is not doing enough to de-radicalise prisoners. Speaking in London, the prime minister said: “The instances of success are really very few and we need to be frank about that.”
- Sudesh Amman was placed under full surveillance on the day of his release from jail and within days prompted such concern from counter-terrorism officials that those tailing him were ordered to be armed, the Guardian has learned. It is not clear whether the armed surveillance officers were carrying concealed pistols for their own personal protection or with the intention of making an arrest.
- The mother of the Streatham attacker, Sudesh Amman, has claimed he was radicalised in prison, describing him as a “nice, polite boy”. Haleema Faraz Khan said her son became more religious in Belmarsh, where he was imprisoned for terrorism offences in 2018. Britain’s top high-security jail is home to many convicted terrorists. Khan said he also became radicalised from watching material online. She said she visited her son at his bail hostel on Thursday and spoke to him hours before the attack.
- Islamic State (Isis) has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack, saying Amman was “an IS fighter and he carried out the attack in response to a call to target nationals”. Isis has a reputation for claiming almost all attacks fuelled by an extremist Islamic ideology, whether it was involved or not. However, the court heard when Amman was convicted for terrorist offences in 2018 that he was inspired by Isis.
Updated
The Met commissioner has been to visit the site of yesterday’s attack. The road remains closed but the force said it will reopen it as soon as possible.
Following the harrowing incident in #Streatham yesterday, Commissioner Cressida Dick has visited the scene to speak to those officers and staff who continue to gather evidence.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) February 3, 2020
Streatham High Rd remains closed and cordons are in place. We will reopen the road as soon as we can pic.twitter.com/Cp5ibtG9X1
The Archdiocese of Southwark has confirmed that one of its female employees was among those injured in Sunday’s attack. It is understood the woman works at St Bede’s Catholic Infant & Nursery school.
A source at Archdiocese said:
We can confirm that an employee was injured. But we are not going to say anymore. We are looking to protect her. She is recovering and is doing OK but it is very early days. We just want to give her the chance to recover in private.
In a public statement on the attack, the Archbishop of Southwark, John Wilson, said:
We will continue to stand together as a community. We will not allow this event, terrible though it is, to divide us. We are from different countries and religious beliefs, but we are united in our common humanity and our shared desire for a peaceful coexistence where every person is respected and can live in safety.
Controversial restrictions which place terrorists under a form of house arrest should be reintroduced to stop future attacks in their tracks, a former watchdog has told PA News:
Lord Carlile, the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation from 2001 to 2011, said control orders would be an “effective and proportionate response” to tackle the “immediate problem” of offenders being automatically released from prison after serving half their sentence.
He told the PA news agency: “To deal with the immediate problem (the government) should re-introduce control orders as we had pre-2011.
“They worked well and withstood legal challenge, and would be an effective and proportionate response.”
Control orders were introduced under 2005 anti-terrorism legislation. The order signed by the Home Secretary put a terrorist suspect under close supervision, described by some as being similar to house arrest, with restrictions on who they meet and where they go.
They were repealed and replaced by measures known as TPIMS (Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures) in 2011, which the government said was a less intrusive system which addressed concerns about civil liberties with time limits and a higher test to be met for one to be brought into force.
Sudesh Amman was placed under full surveillance on the day of his release from jail and within days prompted such concern from counter-terrorism officials that those tailing him were ordered to be armed, my colleagues Vikram Dodd and Dan Sabbagh write.
They write:
On release, counter-terrorism officials decided he needed round-the-clock surveillance by officers – in itself rare and a sign of the danger he was thought to pose.
But soon after this decision, he was assessed to be even more dangerous than first thought and surveillance officers were ordered to be armed, multiple sources said.
It is not clear whether the armed surveillance officers were carrying concealed pistols for their own personal protection, which has been the policy in the Metropolitan police, or with the intention of making an arrest.
Updated
The sentencing remarks for Sudesh Amman in 2018 have been circulated by the judiciary.
The sentencing remarks for Sudesh Faraz Amman, handed down by His Honour Judge Mark Lucraft QC on 17 December 2018 can be found online, as delivered at the time https://t.co/GuyjNYTjZ0
— Judicial Office (@JudiciaryUK) February 3, 2020
The judge, Mark Lucraft QC, told Amman:
In terms of mindset, your interest in Islamic extremism and Daesh [Islamic State/Isis] appears to be more than just an immature fascination. It seems to me on the material here that you are someone with sincerely held and concerning ideological beliefs that motivate you to collect and disseminate material of the type here. In online chat you tell your girlfriend that you have declared a pledge to Islamic State and that you wish to purge society and carry out acid attacks. You speak about preferring a knife attack to the use of bombs and ask about having a knife delivered to her address. You speak about Isis being the best thing to happen to Islam as well as speaking about being an internet mujahidin or a real one. In other chat you speak about thinking of carrying out a terrorist attack at Queensbury and to doing some reconnaissance. In the notebook found in the search where you made notes about explosives and detonators you also note ‘goals in life’ that include a desire to die as a martyr and to go to paradise.
The judge refers to previous convictions for possession of an offensive weapon in June 2017 and a conviction for the possession of cannabis from May 2017.
Explaining the sentence handed down, Lucraft said that some of the offences were committed while Amman was a child but others while he was an adult.
He identified the volume of material disseminated as an aggravating factor while identifying Amman’s age and lack of relevant previous convictions as mitigating factors. He also took into account the guilty plea.
Updated
Sunya Gogeer, 17, came to the police cordon on Monday to look at the scene. On Sunday afternoon she had been studying in Streatham library, across the road from the scene of the attack, and witnessed its aftermath.
“I could see a lot of police cars circling the area and a policeman pointing a gun at the individual, and the person lying on the floor had a knife lying next to him”
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) February 3, 2020
Sunya Gogeer, 17, who was studying in the library across the road when the #streathamTerrorAttack began. pic.twitter.com/MdvHlD34hq
She said:
We heard some commotion outside so my friends went and checked what was going on and he came back and told me that someone had been shot outside. So I went to check out of the window and I could see a lot of police cars circling the area and someone lying on the floor with a policeman pointing a gun at the individual, and the person lying on the floor had a knife lying next to him and also it looked like he had something strapped to him, which was really scary to see.
We were left in the library on lockdown for around 20 to 25 minutes and then an armed police officer came in and told us we had to evacuate the building. So we left from the back and I could see a lot of police over there as well, and also a helicopter circling the area as well.
[I felt] really scared for my safety, because I didn’t know what was going to happen next. We weren’t told anything.
We were directed as to where to go, and where to leave. But of course there was a lot of commotion and it was a chaotic environment.
Updated
The father of Jack Merritt, who was stabbed to death in the London Bridge terror attack in November last year, has condemned the “ultimate failure of policy” that he believes led to the capital’s latest attack.
Earlier today, Boris Johnson said that automatic early release for terror convicts “has come to the end of its useful life”, while also suggesting that deradicalisation rarely works.
However, in a series of tweets, David Merritt, the father of 25-year-old Jack, who was murdered by the convicted terrorist Usman khan, said rehabilitation was key and longer sentences by themselves would not work. He also accused the Conservatives of 10 years of talking tough on crime while cutting funding to prison and probation services.
And yes, detaining people who are clearly a danger to others, as demonstrated by their own words and actions. Ten years Tory governments have been in power. TEN YEARS. Ten years of cuts to essential services, including prisons & probation. Ten years of talking tough on crime but
— David Merritt (@butwhatifitsall) February 3, 2020
epitome of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted; the ultimate failure of policy. That is no criticism of the police; they do their jobs admirably, but it shouldn’t have come to this.
— David Merritt (@butwhatifitsall) February 3, 2020
Updated
Summary
-
The mother of the Streatham attacker, Sudesh Amman, has claimed he was radicalised in prison, describing him as a “nice, polite boy”. Haleema Faraz Khan said her son became more religious in Belmarsh, where he was imprisoned for terrorism offences in 2018. Britain’s top high-security jail is home to many convicted terrorists. Khan said he also became radicalised from watching material online. She said she visited her son at his bail hostel on Thursday and spoke to him hours before the attack.
-
The justice secretary, Robert Buckland, is due to give a statement in the House of Commons this afternoon on the attack, with some suggesting he will announce emergency legislation. Boris Johnson said earlier that planned legislation preventing automatic early release of convicted terrorists should apply to existing as well as future prisoners. Changes in law generally do not apply retrospectively but Johnson said existing prisoners should not be exempt.
- Johnson also said rehabilitation of convicted terrorists rarely works, amid criticism that the government is not doing enough to de-radicalise prisoners. Speaking in London, the prime minister said “the instances of success are really very few and we need to be frank about that”.
- Islamic State (Isis) has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack, saying Amman was “an IS fighter and he carried out the attack in response to a call to target nationals”. Isis has a reputation for claiming almost all attacks fuelled by an extremist Islamic ideology, whether it was involved or not. However, the court heard when Amman was convicted for terrorist offences in 2018 that he was inspired by Isis.
- Police searched two residential addresses in the south London and Bishop Stortford areas respectively overnight. No arrests have been made.
- London Ambulance Service has denied reports it took 30 minutes for medics to arrive at yesterday’s incident in Streatham. It said they arrived in four minutes and were initially directed to a rendezvous point until the police confirmed it was safe for them to approach victims.
Updated
Here is video of Boris Johnson’s comments from this morning about concerns regarding automatic early release for people convicted of terrorism offences.
"What was he doing out on automatic early release?"
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) February 3, 2020
Speaking about the Streatham attacker Sudesh Amman, Boris Johnson says the government is "bringing forward legislation to stop the system of automatic early release". pic.twitter.com/VUQ4uflY0Z
Police said overnight they had raided two residential addresses in connection with the attack, in Bishop’s Stortford and London respectively.
A resident who witnessed the raid at a property on Burley Road in Bishop’s Stortford. Hertfordshire, described the incident as “quite distressing”. She said:
It’s not nice to see police raiding a house. They [the police] didn’t knock the door down, it was just a general raid. Neighbours came out, everyone was concerned.
She added that neighbours had been “peeking out” from behind curtains at the raid, which happened at about 1.30am on Monday.
I think the rest of the family are still in the house. At the end of the day the parents are really really nice people – they are very religious.
Updated
Bell Ribeiro Addy, the new MP for Streatham, was at the cordon on Streatham High Road on Monday morning. On Sunday she was in the area for the immediate aftermath of the attack appealing for calm and unity.
She said:
It’s a really sad and scary situation. As someone who’s lived here all my life I wouldn’t think that something like this would happen, but I would encourage everyone not to be afraid. It’s an isolated incident, everything is under control and also we shouldn’t let those fears and that division divide us as a community.
The justice secretary, Robert Buckland, will this afternoon outline the government’s response to yesterday’s incident. Boris Johnson gave an indication earlier (see 11.48am) of what this might mean, ending automatic early release for convicted terrorists, which would, unusually, include existing prisoners.
No UQs but three major oral statements from 3:30pm:
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) February 3, 2020
1. Global Britain - @DominicRaab
2. Update on Wuhan Coronavirus - @MattHancock
3. Govt response to Streatham incident - @RobertBuckland
Updated
Islamic State (Isis) have claimed responsibility for the attack in Streatham yesterday. This should be treated with a healthy dose of scepticism as Isis has a tendency to claim almost all attacks fuelled by an extremist Islamic ideology, whether they were involved or not.
What is beyond doubt is that Suddesh Amman has expressed support for Isis in the past, as evidenced when he was convicted of terrorist offences in 2018. So he was clearly influenced by their ideology, whether or not he had any direct contact with them or they had any part in planning his actions.
#BREAKING IS claims #Streatham, south London attacker one of its fighters: propaganda arm pic.twitter.com/wF8abIDnaR
— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 3, 2020
Updated
Haleema Faraz Khan also said her son became more religious in prison (Belmarsh is home to a number of terrorism convicts as Britain’s most secure prison). She said she did not know why he had become more religious.
Khan was described as being in tears. She said her son wanted to study biomedical science.
I spoke to him on the phone on Sunday. He said: ‘Mum, I want some biryani … your mutton biryani.’
He became more religious inside prison, that’s where I think he became radicalised. He was watching and listening to things online, which brainwashed him.
He was a polite, kind, lovely boy. He was always smiling. I’m so upset. He was only 20 years old.
Updated
Mother of attacker says he was 'nice, polite boy'
The mother of the Streatham attacker, Sudesh Amman, has told Sky News he was a “nice, polite boy” and that she spoke to him only hours before the attack.
Haleema Faraz Khan said she had visited her son at a bail hostel on Thursday and he called her hours before the attack.
She said he became radicalised after watching Islamic material online and also in Belmarsh prison (where he was serving time for terrorism-related offences).
Khan told Sky News that when she first heard an attack had happened she “had a feeling” Amman, the eldest of four brothers, was responsible because it was in south London.
Updated
The prime minister paid tribute to the “speedy and brave” response by the police, but said:
The question that everybody has about the individual concerned is what was he doing out on automatic release and also why was there no system of scrutiny, no parole system to check whether he was really a suitable candidate for automatic early release. That is a very complex legal system.
He reiterated that the government is bringing forward legislation to prevent automatic early release but suggested it would also apply retrospectively, which is very rare under English law:
We do think it’s time to tackle action to ensure that people, irrespective of the law we are bringing in, people in the current stream do not qualify automatically for early release, people convicted of terrorist act offences.
Updated
Rehabilitation 'rarely works' - PM
After a speech on EU-UK trade in Greenwich, south-east London, Boris Johnson acknowledged the concern about Sudesh Amman’s release from prison.
He said rehabilitation very rarely works:
The problems we have with re-educating and reclaiming and rehabilitating people who succumb to Islamism, it’s very very hard and very tough and it can happen but the instances of success are really very few and we need to be frank about that and we need to think about how we handle that in our criminal justice system.
Updated
The BBC’s political editor says the government is considering emergency legislation in response to the second attack by a convicted terrorist in little over two months.
Robert Buckland expected to make a statement in Commons later after Streatham attack - Whitehall source suggests emergency legislation is being considered
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) February 3, 2020
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has condemned yesterday’s attack by Isis-inspired Sudesh Amman.
Harun Khan, the MCB secretary general, said:
Our thoughts are with the victims of the incident in Streatham, and our solidarity is with the people of that area. Streatham is a vibrant community where Muslims find common cause with fellow residents on a range of issues. Only recently, the people of Streatham came together to speak out against the vandalism against a local mosque.
We must continue to celebrate this strong community spirit, whilst also remaining vigilant. We encourage everyone to report any hate crime and suspicious activity to the police to help keep our communities safe.
Now, as we wait further details from the police about what appears to be a terror-related attack, we stand firm with the people of Streatham against division and hatred from all quarters.
Updated
One of the properties being searched this morning by police is a Streatham bail hostel where Sudesh Amman had been living since his release from prison.
The manager of the hostel told PA Media he had last seen Amman on Friday. “He didn’t speak much,” the manager – who did not want to be named – said. “I didn’t have much to do with him. I don’t really get involved with these guys.”
As police searched the three-storey building, local residents expressed their disquiet at the news. Andrei Marius, a builder who lives opposite, said there were three police cars outside the property at 7pm on Sunday and that officers were “in and out all night”.
“I’ve always known the building was a bail hostel. We read the news about what happened, so we thought it was linked,” he said. “It’s madness. It is not really safe for us to have people like that living close to our homes.”
Updated
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the MP for Streatham, has been at the scene of the attack. She said: “The perpetrator didn’t serve his full sentence, which is questionable – what is more questionable is why he needed to be under surveillance. If someone needs to be under surveillance it brings the question on why they were released in the first place.”
“If you need to be under surveillance immediately [after leaving prison], it begs the question why you were released in the first place”
— Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) February 3, 2020
Labour’s Streatham MP, @BellRibeiroAddy, reacts to the attackhttps://t.co/HdsnpirIF5 #VictoriaLIVE pic.twitter.com/5W50xqUYM1
Also at the scene, Rory Stewart, the former Tory minister and independent candidate for the mayor of London, said: “We should be reassured that armed officers were able to be on the scene as quickly as they were.”
Asked about rehabilitation and de-radicalisation, he said: “Someone that has committed a crime such as this man will have a limited time determined by a judge and they will eventually get out. The key is what work you do with them once they are in prison and the work you do when they are out of prison.”
Updated
Nazir Afzal, the former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England, has said, as he did after November’s London Bridge attack, which was – like the Streatham attack – carried out by a convicted terrorist, that he warned Boris Johnson four years ago about the threat posed by such individuals on release. He said he told the prime minister that proper de-radicalisation programmes were needed with mentoring, to which the response was that “that costs money”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning that longer sentences were not the answer.
We could have delayed this inevitable crime by a few months if we’d given him that [a longer sentence] but there is a real problem with de-radicalisation and disengagement programmes. They have been largely underfunded, they are poorly executed.
He said that other countries have achieved success with such programmes.
Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Sir Lanka and Denmark have world-renowned evaluated de-radicalisation programmes, properly resourced, which are making a significant difference.
He said Denmark’s programme has a success rate of something like 98%. Afzal also said that some “excellent” de-radicalisation programmes in the UK are run by former extremists, “but I’ve heard myself the government doesn’t want to work with former extremists”.
My thoughts with those harmed in #Streatham & with thanks to our police & security services for running towards danger
— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) February 2, 2020
I hate to remind people that the time bomb that releasing still radicalised terrorists was brought to the PMs personal attention 4 yrs ago https://t.co/lOsLktILSK pic.twitter.com/s7FkqZNiwO
Updated
Hello, this is Haroon Siddique taking over the liveblog from Jessica.
A witness told Sky News he thought at the time that the incident was probably gang-related.
"I just saw a fight, but that's kind of normal around here."
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 3, 2020
A witness to the terror attack in Streatham, south London told Sky News he thought it was just a regular fight until he heard a "shout" and everyone ran.
Latest here: https://t.co/XHvrvIOw6j pic.twitter.com/qwdl6zrMxB
Updated
George Donedo was stood at the cordon in Streatham on Monday morning speaking to reporters. “I did actually witness the shooting myself,” he said.
Donedo had been due to take his daughter to the library that afternoon to return books, but she said she didn’t want to go so he went alone.
“Whilst walking down that way I noticed an Arab-looking gentleman running in my direction,” he said. Following him “there were two or three officers”.
Donedo initially thought the commotion was gang-related. “All of a sudden you heard two shots ringing out and then this gentleman stopped,” he said. “Whilst he was still standing I think there was third shot and he was on the floor.
“You can see his whole body was shaking and he was trying to reach out for something, and he just stopped moving, and that’s when the police officer screamed that he’s got something on him and we should go to the library.”
Donedo said he and other passers by were kept in the library for several minutes before they were directed out of a back door.
“I’m just grateful that my daughter never saw that,” he said.
Updated
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Updated
London Ambulance Service has denied reports it took them 30 minutes to arrive on the scene of the terror attack in Streatham yesterday.
We have heard reports that it took 30 minutes for our medics to arrive at yesterday’s incident in Streatham
— London Ambulance Service (@Ldn_Ambulance) February 3, 2020
We can confirm that our medics arrived in 4 minutes, and were initially directed to a rendezvous point until the police confirmed it was safe for them to approach patients pic.twitter.com/dxXPRdX5r6
They said they arrived in four minutes, but had to wait until police said it was safe to approach the victims.
Police confirmed attacker Sudesh Amman was wearing a fake bomb vest.
Dave Chawner said he waited with one of the victims for 30 minutes.
I had to stay with someone who’d just been #stabbed in #Streatham for 30 minutes before a single ambulance arrived.
— Dave Chawner (@DaveChawner) February 2, 2020
I’m just over 1 mile from a hospital - I’m not having a go at anyone, but that’s not right
I just hope he made it
One man in his 40s who was stabbed is no longer in a life-threatening condition, while another victim in her 50s has been discharged from hospital.
Another woman in her 20s is being treated in hospital for minor injuries, believed to have been caused by glass breaking after the gunshots being fired.
Updated
Ian Acheson, who led an independent review in 2016 of Islamist extremism in prisons, probation and youth justice, said some people are so dangerous they might need to be kept in prison “indefinitely”.
He told the BBC’s Today programme: “We are going to have to accept that we have to be much more sceptical and robust about dealing with the risk of harm.
“We may need to accept that there are certain people who are so dangerous they must be kept in prison indefinitely.”
He also said he was “concerned” about the prison service’s ability to manage terrorist offenders.
He added: “Blame is a strong word – the prison service obviously cannot be blamed for lawfully releasing this man when they had to.
“I am more concerned about what happened when he was in custody. I am still unconvinced that the prison service itself has the aptitude or the attitude to assertively manage terrorist offenders.”
Updated
The former head of UK counterterrorism policing, Sir Mark Rowley, said there was a case for giving terrorists indeterminate prison sentences. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said effective rehabilitation and de-radicalisation support was also crucial.
“If someone is clearly driven by an ideology and they believe that slaughtering other people is a sort of God-given purpose, then I can see a case for that,” said Rowley.
“As long as we put alongside it the rehabilitation and de-radicalisation programmes to give someone the opportunity to change their ways and be released.
“I don’t think there should be a lock-up-and-throw-away-the key – we need to be as equally aggressive about trying to help people turn their lives around as we are determined to protect the public.”
The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said the government needed to provide further reassurances about the roughly 70 people who have been convicted of a terrorist offence and subsequently released from prison.
He added there are also more than 200 people in prison convicted of prison sentences. “So another question I’ve got for the government is what are you doing to make sure those people in prison stay in prison whilst they are a danger to the public?”
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Several hundred metres of Streatham High Road remains cordoned off. The road, normally one of south London’s busiest commuter routes, is quiet, with pedestrians walking via side streets to get to train stations.
A wide cordon remains in place on Streatham High Road this morning while police continue to investigate and clear up after the attack yesterday pic.twitter.com/VYnyqNppRT
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) February 3, 2020
In a nearby cafe, staff spoke of their shock at the attack in an unremarkable residential area. Sudesh Amman launched his attack outside a Boots shop, and one woman said she had been standing there only 20 minutes before.
“I was doing the shopping and I was back here [in the cafe] and then I saw what had happened,” said Klaudyna Grzelka, 32, from behind the counter at Nostro coffee on the high road.
“I stayed watching for 30 minutes, maybe more, because I didn’t know what to do, because the buses were stuck and I couldn’t get home. It was a lot of police, a lot of ambulances, a lot of helicopters – I thought it was an accident, I didn’t expect that it was this thing.
“I didn’t expect that something can happen in this area, in Streatham. You think you can feel safe here – it’s our home. You know, you can’t feel safe anymore, you know what I mean?”
A local parents’ network on Facebook was filled with posts about the attack. Some had earlier been deleted, including one with a picture of the attacker after he had been shot dead that quickly circulated among residents on Sunday afternoon.
One parent had posted a screengrabbed message from a local primary school warning of travel problems. It added: “School is open as usual and we will reassure children as they may feel worried or anxious. If anyone was directly affected or witnessed what happened please speak to a member of staff.”
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London mayor Sadiq Khan angry at 'preventable' terror attack
The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said he is angry about the terror attack in Streatham, which he said, like the London Bridge attack in November, was “preventable and foreseeable”.
“Why was he allowed to be released if the authorities knew he was going to be a danger?”, he told BBC News. “I want to be reassured that the authorities have the resources and support they need to make sure we’re kept safe.”
He criticised changes introduced by the government, which he said have made the public “less safe” by not giving judges the tools they need to keep dangerous offenders in prison.
“This government changed the laws a few years ago to make it more difficult for judges to give the right sentence [...] and we have examples of people being radicalised in prison.”
He said he would be lobbying the government to revisit policies such as cuts to prison budgets, privatising the probation service and early release to save money on prison costs.
In the meantime, he said there are still police officers in Streatham where the attack took place and the high street remains closed, while police have confirmed the attack was an isolated incident and they are not looking for anyone else in relation to it.
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Rishi Sunak, the chief secretary to the Treasury, declined to give any details of what new measures the government would put in place in the wake of the attack during a broadcast round on Monday, noting that Boris Johnson has already promised a new counter-terror bill.
“Today he will outline some more, and in regard to all of this, people should be under no illusion about our determination to keep everybody safe,” Sunak told BBC1’s Breakfast.
Sunak denied that cuts to prison and probation services were a key part of the problem. In December, the former chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, said the service had been “haemorrhaging experienced staff and struggling with chaotic reforms”.
"Until the law is changed obviously we have to work with the laws that we have."
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) February 3, 2020
Cabinet Minister @RishiSunak admits the laws which enabled #Streatham attacker Sudesh Amman to be released early from his sentence for terror offences cannot be changed immediately. #KayBurley pic.twitter.com/Pw8zWjePON
“The counter-terrorism budget, which is what we’re dealing with here, has actually been increased every year for the last five or six years,” Sunak said.
“It now up 30% or 40% from where it was several years ago. And we just announced a 10% increase, taking to almost £1bn for the forthcoming year.”
The government, he said, was doubling the number of specific counter-terror probation officers and creating new places in probationary hostels: “This is all forming part of the plans that we’re putting in place to keep people safe.”
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Boris Johnson has said he will announce “further plans for fundamental changes” to the system for dealing with convicted terrorists today.
Following the London Bridge terror attack in November last year, when former inmate Usman Khan stabbed two people to death at Fishmonger’s Hall, the government said it would move to end automatic early release for serious offenders.
In response to yesterday’s attack in Streatham, the prime minister said: “Following the awful events at Fishmonger’s Hall, we have moved quickly to introduce a package of measures to strengthen every element of our response to terrorism – including longer prison sentences and more money for the police.
“Tomorrow, we will announce further plans for fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences.”
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Welcome to live coverage of the aftermath of yesterday’s terror incident in Streatham, south London, where a man was shot dead by police after he stabbed two people.
The attacker was named as Sudesh Amman, who left prison only days ago and had previously been noted by police as having a “fascination with dying in the name of terrorism”.
He was released after serving half of his sentence of more than three years for the possession and distribution of extremist material, but was under special monitoring by police.
It is expected inquiries will now focus on whether Amman acted alone or with others, and how he was able to launch the attack in broad daylight if he was being monitored.
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