Ministry of Justice reviews licence conditions of terrorists freed from prison after London Bridge terror attack

Police continue their investigation around London Bridge in central London after the attack Credit: Steve Parsons/PA

The Ministry of Justice has said it is reviewing the licence conditions of every convicted terrorist released from prison in light of the London Bridge terror attack.

The government department has been strongly criticised after the attacker, Usman Khan, was released from prison less than seven years into a 16-year prison sentence.

He was jailed for his role in a foiled attempt to bomb the London Stock Exchange.

Despite his conviction, he was deemed suitable for release if he wore an electronic monitoring tag. He went on to kill two people and injure three others in a central London stabbing spree.

One of those people has been named as 25-year-old Jack Merritt.

Tributes have since flooded in for the graduate, who has been referred to as "the best guy".

People fled the area around London Bridge after the terrorist attack. Credit: PA

The Ministry of Justice said: "Work is already advanced on reviewing the licence conditions of every terrorist offender, making sure conditions are as tough as they need to be.

"We are also stepping up our already frequent meetings with these offenders."

The review was initiated as a preventative measure and there are no concerns about particular individuals who have been released, the PA news agency reported.

UK head of counter-terrorism policing Neil Basu said on Saturday that Khan had been subject to multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA), and had complied with an "extensive list of licence conditions" following his early release.

Usman Khan pictured in 2008 speaking to the BBC in an interview. Credit: BBC News/PA

MAPPA aims to manage the risks that offenders pose to the public with agencies such as the police, the prison service and probation working together.

Government guidance states "all terrorist and domestic extremist offenders will be risk-assessed" and the "threats that they pose to the community are significant and serious".

The conditions of the release on licence vary with each individual offender but can currently include a duty to report to an offender manager, or to stay at an approved premises where they can be monitored.