Terrorist who plotted with Usman Khan also reoffended after being freed

A man who was part of a terror cell alongside London Bridge attacker Usman Khan also went on to plan another major atrocity after he was released from jail, it has emerged.

Mohibur Rahman was one of nine men jailed over a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange and build a terrorist training camp.

He was convicted of a lesser role and jailed for five years after he admitted possessing copies of an al-Qaeda magazine for terrorist purposes.

They included a recipe for a pipe bomb, which Khan was thought to have memorised.

Rahman was released from jail six months early after his lawyer argued that he was ‘undertaking de-radicalisation’ in prison.

But he was jailed again in August 2017 for plotting a ‘mass casualty attack’ on a police or military target with two other men.

They were caught after a sting operation found partially-built pipe bomb and a meat cleaver engraved with the Arabic word for ‘nonbeliever’ in the car of co-conspirator Naweed Ali.

Prosecutors said the trio exchanged messages venting a ‘desire to take action’, and Rahman himself made computer searches for ‘liquid bomb plot’.

The trio, dubbed ‘The Three Musketeers’, had met in prison and police said they were inspired by Islamic State after leaving jail.

The judge said the men, who pleaded not guilty, planned to ‘cause terror’ and their attack would have involved ‘a considerable loss of life’ had authorities not stopped them.

Rahman, along with Naweed Ali and Khobaib Hussain, of Birmingham, is now serving a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years in jail over the 2017 conviction.

Khan and Rahman were both born in the UK and lived in Stoke-on-Trent at the time of the London Stock Exchange plot.

They and seven other men were arrested in December 2010 and pleaded guilty to terrorism charges on the eve of their trial.

Khan was given a 16-year jail term for his role in the plot but released less than halfway through.

On Friday afternoon he went on a rampage at Fishmongers’ Hall, killing two people and injuring three others.

He was shot dead by police on London Bridge after being confronted by onlookers.

Questions are being asked about the justice system after it emerged that Khan was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet and was subject to monitoring at the time of the London Bridge attack.

Former chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal said the Government had been repeatedly warned of the risk posed by convicted terrorists being released from prison.

Meanwhile the former head of Britain’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office, Chris Phillips, said it is wrong to ask police and security services to keep the country safe while letting people out of prison when they are still a threat.

He added: ‘We’re playing Russian roulette with people’s lives, letting convicted, known, radicalised jihadi criminals walk about our streets.’