Convicted terrorist who stabbed two people was freed from jail despite holding ‘extremist views’

Police were so concerned about a convicted Islamist terrorist before he stabbed two people in South London that they pleaded with a prison governor not to release him because he still held ‘extremist views’ and had told an inmate he was ‘not finished with non-believers’, his inquest heard today.

However, the request to extend homegrown jihadist Sudesh Amman’s custody was turned down because the earlier offence that he had committed could not justify an extension of his sentence, a senior Metropolitan Police officer told jurors. 

Instead, Amman was automatically released on January 23, 2020 and placed under 24-hour surveillance by police and security services. Just 10 days later, the terrorist ran into a shop on Streatham High Road, stole an eight-inch carving knife, and stabbed two people on a 62-second rampage while wearing a fake suicide belt.

Opening the inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice, the coroner said Amman was shot dead by armed police, while both of his victims survived. 

Mr Justice Hilliard said Amman had been serving a 40-month sentence for 13 terror offences at Belmarsh after pleading guilty to six counts of possessing material useful for terrorism and seven counts of disseminating terrorist material online.

Jonathan Hough QC, for the coroner, told the hearing: ‘While in prison he appeared to retain an extremist mindset and appeared still intent on carrying out acts of violence on his release. He also seemed to feel he had celebrity status as a result of being convicted of terrorist offences.’ 

The inquest heard that a police search of Amman’s prison cell unearthed handwritten notes in Arabic which appeared to show loyalty to the so-called Islamic State terror group. 

Detective Superintendent Dominic Murphy, senior investigating officer at the Metropolitan Police, also told jurors that Amman had been referred to children’s services during his time at school between 2012 and 2016 following ‘concerns over his mental health’.

Amman had come to the attention of police in 2016 after he had attacked pupils at his school and had been suspended when he was arrested for attacking other pupils with a weapon, the inquest heard.

In 2017 he was convicted of possession of cannabis and threatening a person with a weapon, jurors were told. A year later, Amman was arrested on suspicion of terror offences.    

The inquest heard that on January 3, Amman was involved in a protest about the death of another prisoner in custody and jumped on the netting between floors at Belmarsh. He was moved into the segregation unit and while there, there were ‘significant reports’ that he had told another prisoner he was ‘not finished with these non-believers yet.’

 Detective Chief Superintendent Alexis Boon wrote to the prison governor Bob Davis expressing concerns about Amman’s release. However, Mr Davis wrote back that Amman was entitled to release on January 23 and it would not be possible to arrange independent adjudication before his release date.

Mr Hough told the court: ‘It would have to be through an independent adjudicator, and that would not be able to take place before that early release date came up.’

The Prison Service maintains that the offence Amman had committed ‘would not have justified an extension of the sentence,’ Mr Hough added.

Instead, Amman was placed under day-time surveillance by plain clothes officers between January 24 and 28, and on January 29 a decision was made to allow those officers to carry firearms, the inquest heard today.

Two days later, the jihadist was seen looking at knives in a shop and purchasing items that could be used to create a hoax suicide belt, the coroner told jurors, after which it was decided to put him under 24-hour surveillance.    

On his release, Amman was required to live at a probation hostel in Streatham, with conditions such as a tag and curfew, and immediately became the subject of a ‘priority investigation’ by MI5 and Scotland Yard.  

The coroner described how Amman was seen leaving his hostel on the afternoon he struck, walking towards Streatham High Road at around 1.25pm.

The coroner said: ‘By 1.50pm, he (Amman) was walking very slowly, he had a white bag across his chest. He was under surveillance by four officers on foot, and other officers were in vehicles on a surrounding road.

‘At 1.57, Mr Amman entered a general shop… which sold, amongst other things, knives.’

He said an anonymous surveillance officer went towards the shop’s entrance, just as Amman grabbed a 20cm kitchen knife from a display and ran with it from the shop. The officer, known only as BX87, then ran after Amman.

The coroner said Amman then began stabbing members of the public. He said: ‘As he ran and within a few seconds, Amman stabbed a lady in the back outside the White Lion public house. A few seconds later while still running, he stabbed a man by Cash Converters, in the right side of his torso.’

The coroner said a second officer, known only as BX75, also joined the pursuit of Amman and shot at him. The shot shattered a shop window, and Amman turned to face the two officers while still holding the knife, during which both officers then opened fire. 

The inquest jury heard Amman suffered wounds in the neck and abdomen, and was pronounced dead at 3.24pm. 

There was a gap of 62 seconds between when Amman fled the shop with the knife, and being fatally shot. A suicide belt he was wearing was later found to be a hoax. 

Mr Murphy added that Amman had been pursued down Streatham High Street by armed police after he exited the shop. ‘Surveillance officers saw he was carrying a carving knife and gave foot chase and shouted ‘armed police’ and for him to stop,’ he said.

Mr Murphy said surveillance operations had been stepped up after Amman was observed entering a number of shops and making suspicious purchases in Poundland. Amman was reported to have bought a roll of brown tape, a roll of aluminium foil and three bottles of Irn Bru at the shop. 

‘We have, through experience on previous incidents, (found) that people have made fake suicide vests with similar purchases,’ Mr Murphy told the inquest.

He added a further review had been undertaken, and from Saturday February 1 the armed officers would carry out ’round the clock’ surveillance with additional support from uniformed armed police and an arrest team from the Met’s SO15 team.

Inquest jurors were shown images of Amman on the afternoon he struck, taken under covert surveillance. 

He was seen wearing a camouflage jacket and a red hood and a beanie hat, with grey traditional dress underneath his jacket. He was carrying a white JD Sports bag across his torso.

Mr Murphy told the inquest Amman was under surveillance from nine officers – one on a motorcycle, some in cars, and some on foot. He told the inquest: ‘The officers reported he was walking very slowly, apparently aimlessly.’ 

Mr Murphy said Amman had been inside the Low Price Store for ‘less than a minute’ but had snatched a kitchen knife from a display before running outside.

‘He was only inside for less than a minute,’ he told the inquest. ‘While he was inside he then took a kitchen knife from the display in the shop and then ran from the shop. As he left the shop he was tearing the knife out of the packaging.’

Jurors were shown a picture of the knife stolen by Amman, which was covered in bloodstains.

Resuming after the lunch interval, Mr Murphy told the inquest that Sudesh Amman stabbed two people shortly after leaving Low Price Store with the stolen knife.

Mr Murphy said: ‘He (Amman) stabbed the first victim, the female victim, striking her in the back with the knife. Shortly after that, he strikes a second victim, a male pedestrian. This male is stabbed in the torso.’

He said both incidents happened ‘within seconds’ of leaving Low Price Store.

Mr Murphy said a surveillance officer, known only as BX75 to protect his identity, then challenged Amman and fired a shot at him.

However, the shot ‘did not seem to have an impact’ on Amman and instead struck a shop window, which shattered and hit a woman stood nearby. 

Mr Murphy said that after exiting the shop, Amman ran north up Streatham High Road past Argos, Peacock and Holland and Barrett, pursued by officers BX87 and BX75. Jurors were shown still images, taken from CCTV footage, of both officers with their arms raised ‘in firing position’.

Mr Murphy added that Amman had stopped outside Boots and turned to face both officers before moving towards them. ‘Both were shouting at him to drop the knife and, having received no response, both officers opened fire on him,’ he said.

‘One officer fired three shots and one officer fired two shots.’

He said that officer BX87 had fired three shots and officer BX75 had fired two shots. ‘He fell to the floor as a result of the shots being fired and the knife was then kicked out of his reach by surveillance officer BX87,’ said Mr Murphy.

Mr Murphy said it appeared that Amman was carrying ‘canisters’ around his waist at the time. He told the inquest: ‘The officers at that time feared that might be an improvised explosive device (IED) of some kind, so they withdrew from the scene.’

A police explosives expert arrived on the scene at 2.40pm to check the device, which was identified as a hoax. He was pronounced dead by a paramedic at 3.24pm, once the scene had been declared safe. 

It was also told that Amman attended Park High School in Stanmore between 2012 and 2016, during which time, in 2014, he was seen by child services over concerns for his mental health.

In late 2015, Amman moved to the Jubilee Academy in Harrow which offered additional support for pupils with challenging behaviour. He was arrested in 2016 for attacking another pupil with a weapon but the victim refused to support a prosecution.

He took his GCSEs in the summer of 2016 and that September, moved to Barnet Southgate College but was excluded in 2017 due to fighting in school.

In May and June 2017, Amman was convicted of possession of cannabis and threatening a person with a weapon in a public place. A year later, in May 2018, Amman was identified as the user of a Telegram chat account using the name StrangerToThisWorld which had been posting extremist material.

The user of the account also appeared to incite violence by urging an attack on a gay rights speaker, the inquest was told. Amman was arrested and his computer seized which revealed extremist Islamist material, including a recipe for making explosives.

His friend and girlfriend, with whom he had shared material, were also arrested and later released without charge.

Amman pleaded guilty in November 2018 to 13 offences of obtaining and distributing material which could be used for terrorist purposes and was jailed for 40 months.

Mr Murphy said: ‘In September 2016 he moved to Barnet Southgate College. He was excluded in 2017 due to fighting in school. In June 2017 he was convicted of possession of cannabis and threatening a person with a weapon.

‘[In May 2018] he was arrested on suspicion of engaging in and preparing for acts of terrorism. He was identified as the user of a Telegram Account. He had urged an attack on a Gay rights speaker.’

At a pre-inquest hearing last month, Amman’s family questioned whether the police and security services could have arrested him earlier instead of shooting him dead in the street.

A post-mortem examination previously recorded the cause of death as shock and haemorrhage and gunshot wounds to the neck and abdomen. 

Amman’s inquest is listed to last up to three weeks. It is expected to examine his background, his time in prison, his movements in the days between release and the atrocity, and police surveillance.