Jonathan Hall QC Wiki
Jonathan Hall QC Biography
Who is Jonathan Hall QC?
Jonathan Hall QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, spoke after an investigative jury blamed MI5 and police for a series of failures that left Fishmongers’ Hall terrorist Usman Khan free to kill graduates from Cambridge Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23. near London Bridge in 2019.
The lead lawyer told BBC Radio 4’s PM program that it was “ pretty clear ” that Khan, who was previously convicted of plotting a terrorist atrocity in Britain from Pakistan and was released in the middle of his 16-year sentence in the license, he was not sure for his release. .
He cautioned that a similar attack by another released terrorist could not be ruled out and called for better information sharing, including that held by the Security Service, to assess the risks posed by extremists once they are released from prison.
“I think it is difficult to underestimate the seriousness of Usman Khan’s original offense,” Hall told the BBC. “He wanted to set up a training camp in Pakistan, to train terrorists to go back and kill people in the UK.
“My own opinion is that people who are convicted of planning an attack should receive automatic life sentences and only be released, if they do so, when they are safe.”
changed the law on terrorism convictions
Hall added: ‘I think it’s a shame the law didn’t go in that direction. Parliament just changed the law on terrorism convictions, but it did not include that kind of provision. ‘
He said the government was acting to address the handling of offenders following a review he conducted last year “and I hope that what I found, which was the inability to share information, would be deeply remedied.”
Hall said an “agile core group of professionals” with the “proper security clearances” should be involved in managing offenders in the community.
MI5 should be more confident in sharing information of a ‘sensitive official’ nature, below the highest levels of classification, ‘rather than feeling that it is too secret to share’.
Attack
Hall cautioned that a similar attack could not be ruled out. Well, it can happen again. I mean, repeat offenders by terrorist offenders is extremely rare, but there is no guarantee that they won’t repeat offenders, ” he said.
‘When the terrorist criminals are released, they will live among us. And they will be licensed for many, many years. And the authorities will never be able to completely exclude the possibility. ‘
Investigation
It comes after an investigative jury today concluded that Khan, an Islamist terrorist who was released from prison shortly after being convicted of plotting an atrocity in Britain, had “illegally killed” the two graduates.
Jurors also found that a catalog of failures and omissions by MI5 and the fight against terrorism made possible the London Bridge rampage in late 2019.
victims Jack Merritt
The grieving relatives of the victims Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, also criticized the prisoner rehabilitation charity that invited Khan to the event in which he called for his “low regard” for safety. They added that his suggestion that they had not done anything different was “insulting.”
Statement
In a statement, Merritt’s father, Dave Merritt, said the arrangements to manage Khan “were not fit for purpose.” He also described MI5 and the West Midlands Counterterrorism Police as “complacent and passive in the face of the extreme and continuing threat from Khan.”
Ms. Jones’s uncle Philip Jones said organizers of the Learning Together event, an education program for prisoners, appeared to have “little regard” for safety, while state agencies also shared responsibility. On Learning Together, he said: “It could be said that his determined vision of the rehabilitation of offenders, using Usman Khan, in our opinion, as a ‘poster artist’ for his show, significantly clouded his judgment.”
Jones said: “ We were particularly concerned after hearing evidence provided by the directors of Learning Together, which provided insight into their attitude and the seemingly low regard they had for the critical safety of their staff, volunteers, and event attendees at Fishmongers. . Room.
‘It could be said that her resolute vision of the rehabilitation of offenders, using Usman Khan, in our opinion, as a’ poster artist ‘for his show, significantly clouded his judgment.
“It seems that they did not intend to listen or take note of what they were facing when working with such a high risk person. Learning Together turned down the opportunity to learn more about Usman Khan and his risk factors. This may have contributed to the failure to take into account the necessary measures to protect the safety and well-being of all those involved.
