Boris Johnson says 74 convicted terrorists released from prison will have license conditions reviewed - Fox News

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says 74 convicted terrorists released early from prison in the United Kingdom will have their license conditions reviewed.

The UK Ministry of Justice confirmed the figure, launching a review after convicted terrorist Usman Khan killed two people in a knife attack at the London Bridge on Friday, following an early release from prison, according to the BBC. The 28-year-old died in the attack. He had previously been jailed after attempting to bomb the London Stock Exchange in 2012.

Johnson says that eliminating early release would have prevented the deadly stabbing.

LONDON BRIDGE ATTACK SUSPECT SHOT AND KILLED BY BRITISH POLICE AFTER STABBING: REPORT

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says 74 convicted terrorists released early from prison in the United Kingdom will have their license conditions reviewed.<br data-cke-eol="1"> (AP)

"I opposed [automatic release] both in 2003 and 2008, and now that I am prime minister I'm going to take steps to make sure that people are not released early when they commit... serious sexual, violent or terrorist offenses," he told the BBC. "I absolutely deplore that fact that this man was out on the streets... and we are going to take action against it."

This undated photo provided by West Midlands Police shows Usman Khan. UK counterterrorism police are searching for clues into an attack that left two people dead and three injured near London Bridge. Police said Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019, Khan, who was imprisoned six years for terrorism offenses before his release last year stabbed several people in London on Friday, Nov. 29, before being tackled by members of the public and shot dead by officers on the London Bridge. (West Midlands Police via AP)

Johnson said that there are "probably about 74 people" who have been released early after committing serious crimes and said that steps need to be taken after the London Bridge stabbing "to ensure there is no threat to the public."

One of those stabbed by Khan in Friday's attack was named as 25-year-old University of Cambridge graduate, Jack Merritt, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in law in 2016.

His father, David Merritt, said on Twitter that he wishes his son's death won't be used to detain people unnecessarily, adding that Jack was "a beautiful spirit who always took the side of the underdog."

A photograph of the first victim to be named, Jack Merritt, is pictured among floral tributes left close to London Bridge in the City of London, on December 1, 2019, following the November 29 deadly terror incident. - Britain's Boris Johnson said on December 1 the security services were stepping up monitoring of convicted terrorists released early from prison, as the London Bridge attack became embroiled in the election campaign. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

"Jack spoke so highly of all the people he worked with & he loved his job," he added.

NARWHAL TUSK-WIELDING CHEF HELPED SUBDUE LONDON BRIDGE ATTACKER; VICTIM IDENTIFIED

Dr. Vin Diwakar, medical director for NHS London, told the BBC that a staff member who works at the university was also injured in the attack and two other victims remain at the hospital in stable condition. A third person was released early.

Khan was sentenced to indeterminate detention for "public protection" with a minimum of eight years after the failed bomb attack in 2012, which the outlet says would have kept him in prison beyond the minimum term.

In 2013, the Court of Appeal replaced the sentence with a 16-year fixed term, with Khan serving half in prison. He was eventually released in December 2018 while being subject to an "extensive list of license conditions," Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu told the BBC.

Those conditions will reportedly be reviewed.

Liberal Democrats deputy leader Ed Davey said on Sunday that he was "alarmed" at Johnson's reaction to the London Bridge attack.

"In the middle of an election, we shouldn't be making political capital out of a tragedy, and he's doing that, and he's doing that in a way which is misleading people about what the law actually says," Davey said, according to the outlet.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for an investigation into Khan and said there should be additional funding for mental health services. He also warned against "knee-jerk legislation," adding that the United Kingdom could "pay a price later."

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"There has to be an examination of how our prison services work and crucially what happens when they are released from prison," he said.

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2019-12-01 16:01:38Z
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Iraq unrest: Parliament approves PM Abdul Mahdi's resignation - BBC News

Iraq's parliament has approved the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi following weeks of unrest.

It is unclear who will take over from Mr Abdul Mahdi. The parliament speaker said President Barham Saleh would be asked to name a new prime minister.

Meanwhile the Pope has become the latest figure to condemn security forces' use of lethal force.

Some 400 people have been killed since protests began in Baghdad and other cities at the start of October.

Thousands more have been injured. Iraqis are demanding jobs, an end to corruption and better public services.

On Sunday clashes continued in cities including Baghdad and Najaf.

What is happening in Iraq's parliament?

The decision by parliament to approve Mr Abdul Mahdi's resignation was made in an emergency session called on Sunday.

Existing laws in Iraq do not clearly set out a way for members of parliament to deal with a prime minister's resignation, but lawmakers on Sunday acted on the legal opinion of the supreme court, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Under the constitution, the president is expected to ask the largest bloc in parliament to nominate a new prime minister to form a government.

Mr Abdul Mahdi and his government will stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is chosen, reports say.

How did we get here?

Mr Abdul Mahdi's office announced on Friday that he would submit his resignation to parliament in response to a call from Iraq's top Shia Muslim cleric for a new government.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani had condemned the use of force against protesters and called for lawmakers to withdraw their support for the government.

It came a day after more than 40 people were killed in the bloodiest day since the anti-government protests began.

What did the Pope say?

Pope Francis said he was following the situation there "with concern".

"It is with pain that I have learned of the protest demonstrations of the past days that were met with a harsh response, causing tens of victims," he said at his weekly Sunday blessing.

The Pope says he wants to visit Iraq next year.

What is the latest?

Anti-government demonstrators took to the streets in the southern city of Basra on Sunday dressed in black to mourn those killed in recent days.

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It came as Iraqi media reported that a police officer was sentenced to death for killing protesters in Wasit province, south-east of Baghdad. Another officer was reportedly given a seven-year sentence.

If confirmed, the death sentence would be the first given to an Iraqi officer over the two months of unrest.

Why is there unrest?

Mr Abdul Mahdi took office just over a year ago, promising reforms that have not materialised. Young Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad for the first time at the beginning of October.

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After the first wave of protests - which began in October, lasted six days and saw 149 civilians killed - Mr Abdul Mahdi promised to reshuffle his cabinet and cut the salaries of high-ranking officials, and also announced schemes to reduce youth unemployment.

But the protesters said their demands had not been met and returned to the streets in late October. The demonstrations escalated and spread across the country after security personnel responded with deadly force.

Officials say more than a dozen members of the security forces have also died in clashes.

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2019-12-01 15:24:31Z
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London Bridge attack threatens to recast U.K.'s 'Brexit election' with focus on terror - NBC News

LONDON — A deadly terror attack struck at the heart of the British capital just weeks before a crucial national election, refocusing the campaign on security issues as voters were set to head to the polls.

That was 2017.

But two years later London Bridge was again the scene of tragedy, bravery and the center of national debate in the U.K. this weekend.

Nov. 30, 201901:57

Friday afternoon's stabbing attack left two people dead at the hands of a man released from prison last year after a previous terrorism conviction. Political leaders vowed to briefly pause campaigning, but by late Saturday it was clear security would — at least temporarily — become the focus of the election.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to take a tougher stance on crime and security if re-elected. Writing in an op-ed in the Mail on Sunday newspaper, Johnson called for the reversal of a law that allows serious offenders to be released from prison early and sought to blame the opposition Labour Party for the policy.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn criticized the government, which has been in power since 2010.

"There's got to be a very full investigation," he said, though he declined to join Johnson's sweeping call for longer prison terms.

The snap Dec. 12 vote was called in an effort to end the country's yearslong political deadlock over its divorce from the European Union.

The issue has dominated much of the campaign to this point, with Johnson's ruling Conservative Party appealing to voters to hand them a majority in Parliament they claim would allow them to "get Brexit done."

Labour has sought to focus on health care, claiming Johnson's hardline Brexit plans and vow to strike a free trade deal with the United States will do damage to the cherished National Health Service (NHS).

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"Inevitably, an attack like this is going to dictate the agenda for at least a few days," Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, told NBC News.

"I’m not sure it will permanently knock Brexit, or indeed the NHS, off the headlines, but it's clear both Boris Johnson and to some extent Jeremy Corbyn are determined to not only comment on but potentially capitalize on what’s happened."

Corbyn, a veteran left-wing campaigner, has trailed in the polls throughout but looked to be narrowing the gap in the past week. PAUL ELLIS / AFP - Getty Images

Johnson's law-and-order stance was more likely to appeal to the British public, Bale said, which is "notoriously hardline and much more inclined to a lock them up and throw away the key philosophy."

A public opinion poll by market research firm YouGov for the Sunday Times newspaper found the public split in their confidence in Johnson on security issues, but overwhelmingly lacking confidence in Corbyn's leadership on the subject.

The Conservatives have long sought to paint their opponents as soft on crime, a tactic Johnson returned to in the wake of the London Bridge attack.

Johnson and his allies have attempted to blame a Labour Party policy from 2008 for the early release of Usman Khan, the 28-year-old named as the suspect police shot dead on London Bridge.

Khan was originally sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2012 for his part in an al-Qaeda-inspired plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange and other major sites including the U.S. Embassy.

But Bale said such a reduction of a complex case was "deeply cynical," while some U.K. legal experts pushed back against the claims.

The Prime Minister repeatedly defended his efforts Sunday to point the finger. "Although it is very early I think it is legitimate," he told the BBC's flagship Sunday talk show in a combative interview with host Andrew Marr.

Related

One of the families affected by Friday's attack appeared to have made an appeal not to exploit the incident to impose tougher laws.

One of the victims was identified Sunday as Jack Merritt, 25, who was part of Cambridge University's Learning Together program aimed at educating people in prison alongside university students.

Ahead of the attack Khan had been attending a Learning Together event at a historic building adjacent to the bridge, police said.

In a now-deleted tweet Jack's father, David Merritt, was reported to have said Saturday his son "would not wish his death to be used as the pretext for more draconian sentences or for detaining people unnecessarily."

That wish seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

Yet it remained unclear whether the strategy would pay off when voters head to the polls in two weeks.

The 2017 attack on London Bridge and Borough Market also came in the buildup to an election.

On that occasion Corbyn was able to gain public favor by criticizing policing cuts that had been imposed as part of the Conservative government's austerity program.

"I think the public did have some sympathy with the idea that you can’t protect people on the cheap and the point he made about police funding back then arguably applies now," Bale said.

While the laws involved in the case may require review, Bale warned that politicians should tread carefully as they quickly apportioned blame.

"Voters aren’t fools and if they begin to think that politicians are trying to make the most out of a tragic incident then it may backfire," he said, "because voters at the moment are very, very cynical about politicians on all sides."

Linda Givetash

Linda Givetash is a reporter based in London. She previously worked for The Canadian Press in Vancouver and Nation Media in Uganda. 

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2019-12-01 14:40:00Z
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As Taiwan's Election Race Heats Up, China Weighs On Voters' Minds - NPR

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A supporter gets the crowd amped up for opposition presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu at a campaign rally at a Hakka temple in Taiwan's Miaoli county in November. Emily Feng/NPR hide caption

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Emily Feng/NPR

At a recent election campaign event in Taiwan, a procession of women beat ceremonial drums, dance and wave lotus-shaped umbrellas in celebration. But beyond the slogans promising national security and prosperity, the topic on everyone's mind is what to do about China.

The star of the event is Han Kuo-yu, a pro-Beijing candidate running for president with the opposition Kuomintang, who poses a stark contrast with the current leaders.

"[The governing party] relentlessly uses Taiwan independence as a way to negate China," Han, the mayor of the city of Kaohsiung, said to rallygoers at the event in Miaoli county, just south of Taiwan's capital of Taipei. "However, Taiwan and Beijing are one family."

Taiwan, a U.S. ally, has its own government, military and capitalist economy, but the Chinese Communist Party says Taiwan belongs to the People's Republic of China.

Voters are preparing to elect Taiwan's next president and legislature on Jan. 11. While the leading opposition candidate sympathizes with Beijing, President Tsai Ing-wen's Democratic Progressive Party calls China the "enemy of democracy."

Many Taiwanese are also closely watching what is happening in Hong Kong, where more than five months of sometimes violent protests are pushing back against mainland China's control. Taiwan largely wants to avoid becoming another Hong Kong, which could tip the election in favor of President Tsai, who is running for reelection and enjoys a widening lead in opinion polls.

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Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech as she launches her reelection campaign in Taipei, on Nov. 17. Taiwan will hold its presidential election on Jan. 11. Chiang Ying-ying/AP hide caption

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Chiang Ying-ying/AP

"We see the freedom enjoyed by the Hong Kong people is being chipped away," Joseph Wu, Taiwan's foreign minister, told NPR. "We see the experience of Hong Kong is not quite what the Chinese government promised in the early days."

"One country" rejected

Still, China's leader Xi Jinping has been pressuring Taiwan to follow Hong Kong's model.

It's called "one country, two systems," meaning Hong Kong is part of China but keeps some autonomy, including government functions and independent courts — in theory.

Many Hong Kongers accuse the leadership in Hong Kong and Beijing of eroding their limited autonomy. That sentiment is in part why thousands have taken to the street in anti-government protests that are now in their sixth month.

Taiwan's leaders flatly reject any proposal for Taiwan to enter a similar arrangement with China.

"Hong Kong is on the verge of chaos due to the failure of 'one country, two systems,'" President Tsai said on Taiwan's national day in October. "The overwhelming consensus among Taiwan's 23 million people is our rejection of 'one country, two systems,' regardless of party affiliation or political position."

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Supporters of President Tsai cheer at her reelection campaign launch in November. Chiang Ying-ying/AP hide caption

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Chiang Ying-ying/AP

More than 86% say they would prefer to maintain Taiwan's current status, according to the latest polls.

Even the opposition candidate Han, who has sparked controversy over his pro-Beijing stance, disavowed the Hong Kong policy after the protests erupted. "Taiwanese people can never accept ['one country, two systems'], unless it's over my dead body," he said.

Taiwan has been preparing for China to attack ever since Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek retreated to the island in 1949, along with 2 million of his supporters and soldiers, after losing a civil war against Mao Zedong's Communist forces.

Xi has said Taiwan should unify with mainland China peacefully but has threatened to use force to do so.

As Beijing steps up militaristic rhetoric, the U.S. has stepped up its support f0r the island. It has bulked up its de facto embassy in Taipei and passed legislation encouraging official travel between the U.S. and Taiwan. This year, the U.S. made a high-profile $8 billion sale of fighter jets and other military equipment to the island, angering Beijing.

Taiwan considers itself a bulwark of democracy in the Asia-Pacific region, where China is increasingly asserting its power.

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Supporters of Kuomingtang presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu wave the flag of Taiwan. Many in the party favor closer ties with Beijing, although it is a minority view in Taiwan. Emily Feng/NPR hide caption

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Emily Feng/NPR

"We are on the front lines. We have faced all these threats and Chinese infiltration for decades," says Freddy Lim, a death metal rocker turned co-founder of one of Taiwan's most liberal political organizations, the New Power Party.

The nearly 5-year-old party is now going through an existential crisis over whether to support Tsai's reelection bid. In August, Lim quit the party to run for reelection to his legislative seat as an independent so he could back President Tsai, arguing the stakes of losing the presidency to a pro-Beijing candidate are too high.

Better collaboration with China

Central to every election in Taiwan is the question: Does Taiwan, a small island, sidle up to its much bigger neighbor China to develop its economy or keep it at an arm's length?

"There is no such thing as economic and trade without politics in Taiwan," says Lev Nachman, a doctoral candidate researching Taiwanese political movements.

Some politicians have tried to stake out some middle ground, such as the upstart Taiwan People's Party that formed in August. It has come under criticism for seemingly waffling on its stance toward Beijing.

"We try to enhance the collaboration with the people with the civil society of mainland China, especially in terms of economics and culture. We very much support the kind of nongovernmental interaction," explains Kimyung Keng, one of the Taiwan People's Party candidates running for a district legislative seat.

Unify one way or another

Despite its small size and dwindling number of international allies, Taiwan has managed to nurture a robust economy. Homegrown corporate champions include electronics-making giant Foxconn and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Wages are rising and the unemployment rate is just under 3.8%, one of the lowest levels in two decades. President Tsai has built up economic ties with Southeast Asia to diversify Taiwan's trade portfolio away from mainland China.

But supporters of opposition candidate Han say the president has made a mistake in shutting out Beijing. Taiwan should not be afraid of unification with China, rallygoers at the recent campaign event told NPR.

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Chang An-lo, speaks with foreign media in Taipei, in 2014. After serving 10 years in a U.S. federal prison on drug trafficking charges, Chang returned to Taiwan in 2013 to pursue political ambitions as the leader of the China Unification Promotion Party. Wally Santana/AP hide caption

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Wally Santana/AP

The staunchest of the pro-China camp is prominent gangster turned politician. Chang An-lo once helped lead one of Taiwan's biggest gangs, the Bamboo Union. Now, he heads the Chinese Unification Promotion Party, which nominates no candidates of its own but backs every pro-Beijing Kuomintang candidate.

"When China unifies Taiwan either violently or peacefully, do you want military rule or one country, two systems? The latter is still the best way for Taiwan," says Chang. "How could an economy of 1.4 billion people be bad for Taiwan? And what's wrong with returning to China, as we are all Chinese?"

Taiwanese mostly disagree. The latest polls on identity show the island's residents feel increasingly Taiwanese, not Chinese.

"There is a huge generational difference," says Luo Chi-cheng, a Democratic Progressive lawmaker running for reelection. "Young people pay close attention to what happens in Hong Kong because [otherwise] in the future, Taiwan may be forced to accept the so-called one country, two system model."

Older voters tend to care more about economic development, according to Luo. It is the younger Taiwanese, he notes, who have longer to live and more opportunities to decide future election outcomes.

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2019-12-01 13:03:00Z
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In Hong Kong, protesters say 'thank you Donald Trump' - Al Jazeera English

Police fired tear gas and pepper spray in Hong Kong on Sunday as thousands of protesters flooded into the streets after a rare lull in violence as residents chanted "revolution of our time" and "liberate Hong Kong".

Pro-democracy demonstrators renewed pressure on the government by marching in three separate rallies across the city, with one of them showing "gratitude" for US support of the anti-government movement that has roiled the financial hub for nearly six months.

Hundreds of people, including many elderly residents, carried Amerian flags as they marched to the United States consulate to express gratitude for legislation aimed at protecting human rights in Hong Kong that US President Donald Trump signed into law last week.

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Some donned Trump logo hats and T-shirts as protesters unfurled a banner depicting the US president standing astride a tank with a US flag behind him.

Another banner read: "President Trump, please liberate Hong Kong."

Trump this week signed into law congressional legislation that supported protesters in the China-ruled city, despite angry objections from Beijing.

"Thank you, President Trump, for your big gift to Hong Kong and God bless America," shouted a speaker holding a microphone as he addressed a crowd at the start of the march.

Earlier on Sunday, hundreds of demonstrators, including many families with children, marched in protest against police use of tear gas.

Carrying yellow balloons and waving banners that read: "No tear gas, save our children," the protesters streamed through the city's central business district towards government headquarters on the main Hong Kong island.

Relative calm

There has been relative calm in Hong Kong for the past week but activists have pledged to maintain the momentum of the movement. 

Anti-government protests have rocked the former British colony since June, at times forcing government offices, businesses, schools and even the international airport to shut down.

Al Jazeera's Sarah Clarke, reporting from the third march on the Kowloon side, which started at the Star Ferry terminal and will end near the Polytechnic University, said: "This one is the anti-government one with a general message.

"It has been approved by police, but we have riot police the whole way along the route of this march monitoring things.

"Thousands of people are streaming ... we have every generation - old and young - represented.

"The protesters are trying to bring the message back to their five key demands - political reform and independent investigation into the police conduct during these six months of demonstrations."

Police have fired about 10,000 rounds of tear gas since June, the city's Secretary for Security John Lee said last week.

Sunday's marches came as a top Hong Kong official said the government was looking into setting up an independent committee to review the handling of the crisis, in which demonstrations have become increasingly violent.

Demonstrators in Hong Kong are angry at what they see as Chinese meddling in the freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

China denies interfering and says it is committed to the "one country, two systems" formula put in place at that time and has blamed foreign forces for fomenting unrest.

Further protests are planned through the week and a big test of support for the anti-government campaign is expected on December 8 with a rally planned by Civil Human Rights Front, the group that organised million-strong marches in June.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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2019-12-01 10:48:00Z
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Boris Johnson says 74 terror prisoners released early - BBC News

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Boris Johnson has told the BBC that 74 people jailed for terror offences and released early will have their licence conditions reviewed.

The Ministry of Justice launched the urgent review after Friday's London Bridge attack, where convicted terrorist Usman Khan - who served half his time - killed two people.

The prime minister claimed scrapping early release would have stopped him.

But Labour is blaming budget cuts for "missed chances to intervene".

Khan, 28, who was shot dead by police during Friday's attack, was jailed over a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange in 2012.

He was sentenced to indeterminate detention for "public protection" with a minimum jail term of eight years.

This sentence would have allowed him to be kept in prison beyond the minimum term.

But in 2013, the Court of Appeal quashed the sentence, replacing it with a 16-year-fixed term of which Khan should serve half in prison.

He was released on licence in December 2018 - subject to an "extensive list of licence conditions", Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said.

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'Repulsive'

The prime minister told the BBC's Andrew Marr show it was "repulsive" that someone as "dangerous" as Khan could be released from prison after "only serving eight years".

He blamed Khan's release on legislation introduced under "a leftie government", insisting the automatic release scheme was introduced by Labour - but was challenged about what the Conservatives had done to change the law over the past 10 years in government.

"I'm a new prime minister," said Mr Johnson. "We take a different approach."

He added: "I opposed [automatic release] both in 2003 and 2008, and now that I am prime minister I'm going to take steps to make sure that people are not released early when they commit... serious sexual, violent or terrorist offences.

"I absolutely deplore that fact that this man was out on the streets... and we are going to take action against it."

Mr Johnson said there are "probably about 74 people" who had been subject to early release following serious offences, adding that action had been taken immediately following London Bridge attack "to ensure there is no threat to the public".

The Ministry of Justice confirmed the 74 figure following the interview.

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How the law on early release changed

2003 - The Criminal Justice Act meant most offenders would be automatically released halfway through sentences, but the most "dangerous" would have their cases looked at by a Parole Board. Sentences with no fixed end point, called Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), were also introduced.

2008 - Criminal Justice and Immigration Act removed review process by Parole Boards, meaning more offenders were released automatically halfway through sentences. Judges could still hand down life sentences or IPPs for dangerous offenders.

2012 - Usman Khan was handed a sentence with no fixed end date because of the risk he posed to the public. In the same year, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act scrapped IPPs and reintroduced the role of the Parole Board for extended sentences of 10 years or more - this time after two-thirds of the sentence has passed. But that did not mean those already serving IPPs would have them lifted.

2013 - During an appeal, Lord Justice Leveson ruled that Khan's indeterminate sentence should be substituted for an extended sentence with automatic release at the halfway point.

---

At an event in York, Jeremy Corbyn called for an inquiry into "everything surrounding" Khan, including his sentence and what happened to him in prison.

But he warned against "kneejerk legislation", saying the country could "pay a price later".

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In his speech, the Labour leader said: "No government can prevent every attack. No one would believe any political leader who said they could.

"But the government can act to make such acts of terror less, rather than more likely."

Mr Corbyn said there needed to be more funding for public services, including probation and mental health, as when they are cut "they leave behind gaps".

He added: "That can lead to missed chances to intervene in the lives of people who go on to commit inexcusable acts, whether it's during their childhood, their first brush with the law, their first conviction or in prison through rehabilitation programmes.

"You can't keep people safe on the cheap."

Mr Corbyn told Sky's Sophy Ridge programme terrorists should "not necessarily" serve their full sentences automatically, but that it "depends on circumstances".

"There has to be an examination of how our prison services work and crucially what happens when they are released from prison," he said.

Both parties have been accused of politicising the attack.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Ed Davey told Sophy Ridge on Sunday that he was "alarmed" at Mr Johnson's reaction to the London Bridge attack.

"In the middle of an election, we shouldn't be making political capital out of a tragedy, and he's doing that, and he's doing that in a way which is misleading people about what the law actually says."

But Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage tweeted that those convicted of terror offences "should never be released".

"It is appalling that 74 convicted terrorists are on our streets," he added. "These are not ordinary criminals but people with a jihadi virus."

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The father of Jack Merritt, one of two victims who died in the attack, said in a now-deleted tweet that his son "would not wish his death to be used as the pretext for more draconian sentences or for detaining people unnecessarily".

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said David Merritt should be listened to, declaring "nobody wants to see the politicisation of this".

But he added: "The question is, who is going to make sure that the overriding priority is avoiding any unnecessary risk to the public?"

"I think if you look at what we're saying on sentencing... it is the Conservatives who are saying we will stop at nothing to keep people safe."

Khan was living in Stafford and wearing a GPS police tag when he launched his attack inside Fishmongers' Hall, where he was one of dozens of students and offenders attending a conference hosted by Learning Together, a prisoners' rehabilitation programme.

The attack then continued onto London Bridge itself.

Mr Merritt, a course co-ordinator for Learning Together, was one of two people fatally stabbed. A woman who also died has not yet been named.

NHS chief executive Simon Stevens said three victims remained in hospital following the attack - two in a stable condition and one with less serious injuries.

Mr Basu said officers had been working "flat out" to try to establish the "full circumstances" of the stabbing.

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2019-12-01 11:46:59Z
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At least 14 killed in bloody gunfight in northern Mexico - NBCNews.com

MEXICO CITY - Ten suspected cartel gunmen and four police were killed during a shootout on Saturday in a Mexican town near the U.S. border, days after U.S. President Donald Trump raised bilateral tensions by saying he would designate the gangs as terrorists.

The government of the northern state of Coahuila said state police clashed at midday with a group of heavily armed gunmen riding in pickup trucks in the small town of Villa Union, about 40 miles southwest of the border city of Piedras Negras.

Standing outside the Villa Union mayor's bullet-ridden offices, Coahuila Governor Miguel Angel Riquelme told reporters the state had acted "decisively" to tackle the cartel henchmen. Four police were killed and six were injured, he said.

The City Hall of Villa Union is riddled with bullet holes after a gun battle between Mexican security forces and suspected cartel gunmen, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019.Gerardo Sanchez / AP

The fighting went on for more than an hour, during which ten gunmen were killed, three of them by security forces in pursuit of the gang members, Riquelme said.

At about noon, heavy gunfire began ringing out in Villa Union, and a convoy of armed pickup trucks could be seen moving around the town, according to video clips posted by social media users. Others showed plumes of smoke rising from the town.

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Reuters could not vouch for the authenticity of the images.

An unspecified number of people were also missing, including some who were at the mayor's office, the governor said.

Riquelme said authorities had identified 14 vehicles involved in the attack and seized more than a dozen guns. The governor said he believed the gunmen were members of the Cartel of the Northeast, which is from Tamaulipas state to the east.

A wall of the room of a home is riddled with bullet holes after a gun battle between Mexican security forces and suspected cartel gunmen, in Villa Union, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019.Gerardo Sanchez / AP

The outbreak of violence occurred during a testing week for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who on Friday said he would not accept any foreign intervention in Mexico to deal with violent criminal gangs after Trump's comments.

Lopez Obrador said Mexico would handle the problem, a view echoed by Riquelme as he spoke to reporters.

"I don't think that Mexico needs intervention. I think Mexico needs collaboration and cooperation," said Riquelme, whose party is in opposition to Lopez Obrador. "We're convinced that the state has the power to overcome the criminals."

In an interview aired on Tuesday, Trump said he planned to designate the cartels as terrorist organizations, sparking concerns the move could serve as a prelude to the United States trying to intervene unilaterally in Mexico.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr is due to visit Mexico next week to discuss cooperation over security.

Lopez Obrador took office a year ago pledging to pacify the country after more than a decade of gang-fueled violence.

A series of recent security lapses has raised questions about the left-leaning administration's strategy.

Criticism has focused on the Nov. 4 massacre of nine women and children of U.S.-Mexican origin from Mormon communities in northern Mexico, and the armed forces' release of a captured son of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman under pressure from cartel gunmen in the city of Culiacan.

Coahuila has a history of gang violence, although the homicide total in the state that borders Texas is well below where it was seven years ago. National homicide figures are pushing record levels.

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2019-12-01 07:01:00Z
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