Abbott: 'Legal system let us down over Sydney siege'

The Australian Prime Minister has said the legal system "let the country down" after the Sydney siege in which two people were killed.

Tony Abbott said Iranian gunman Man Haron Monis, who he branded a "monster", should never have been allowed in the country.

"He shouldn't have been out on bail. He shouldn’t have been with a gun and he shouldn’t have become radicalised," he added.

It comes after a report into the December 16 incident revealed members of the public made 18 phone calls about Monis' Facebook posts in the week leading up to the attack.

However, agencies following up the calls found Monis was not an imminent threat and missed a threshold for prosecution.

Monis sought asylum in Australia within a month of arriving on a business visa in 1996 and was later granted citizenship.

He was convicted of sending hate mail to the families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan was well-known to police and security authorities in 2012.

The report showed he was also the subject of counter terrorism discussions between 2008 and 2014.

At the time of the siege, the self-styled sheikh, who tried to align himself with the Islamic State group, was on bail for the murder of his ex-wife.

Monis was killed by heavily armed police who stormed the Lindt cafe, where he was holding 18 people captive, after he killed hostage Tori Johnson.

Another hostage, Katrina Dawson, was also killed, but it was later found to be as a result of being hit by police bullets as they stormed the building.

Abbott said: "Monis was given the benefit of the doubt every time. He gamed the system."

He is expected to announce tougher immigration curbs in a national security report tomorrow.