A terrorist who is said to have confessed to being a mastermind behind 9/11 and the July 7 London bombings is set to be freed from prison within days despite officials declaring him a “risk to national security”.
Haroon Aswat, 50, could be released from a secure hospital unit without a full assessment due to his mental health treatment thanks to a legal loophole, according to reports.
Aswat was jailed in 2015 in the US for 20 years having admitted trying to start a terrorist training camp in Oregon.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: “This despicable man was behind one of the most deadly attacks in modern history. He should never experience freedom again.”
Newly surfaced US court documents obtained by The Sun say the al-Qaeda fanatic admitted he was a “mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and a 2005 terrorist attack in the UK”.
Fifty-two people died and over 770 were injured when three Tube trains and a bus when suicide bombers attacked the capital on July 7, 2005.
Despite High Court judge Mr Justice Robert Jay previously saying there was “evidence of an ongoing risk”, Aswat, of Batley, West Yorkshire, will only be subject to a notification order upon his release.
It means Aswat must continually notify the police about his address, foreign travel details and vehicle registration.
Aswat was jailed in New York after attempting to set up a “terrorist training camp” in the US with radical cleric Abu Hamza in the 1990s.
He was deported back to the UK in 2022 after periods of custody awaiting extradition to America were taken into account and has since been detained at Broadmoor Hospital.
The US District Court document states: “The defendant’s crimes are incredibly serious. He is a terrorist and foot soldier of al-Qaeda trained to commit acts of violence.
“His comments while in prison and his numerous disciplinary violations indicate he still supports al-Qaeda and remains dangerous.
“In 2017 he told staff he was associated with al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden was his ‘commander’ and that he would ‘behead all of you’.
“In March 2017 the defendant stated, ‘If you think I am a terrorist, I don’t shy away from my responsibility’, and also stated he was a mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and a 2005 terrorist attack in the UK.”
In his witness statement Detective Chief Superintendent Gareth Rees, head of operations for the Metropolitan Police’s SO15 Counter Terrorism Command, said of Aswat: “He has spoken positively of his time with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and expressed aspirations to reconnect with them.
“Based on my experience, this is conduct which gives me grave concerns about the risk which the defendant poses to the UK’s national security and to the public.
“The assessment of medical practitioners is that he currently has capacity to make complex decisions and understand complex restrictions when mentally stable.
“However, he may temporarily lose capacity if he were to relapse into a psychotic state.”
A Government spokeswoman told the Standard: “Protecting our national security is the very first priority of this Government and if any individual poses a threat to that security, the police and intelligence services have a range of powers they can apply to deal with that threat.
“We will always do whatever is necessary inside the law to protect the public from any risk posed by former terrorist offenders or people of terrorist concern.”
