Al Qaeda ‘mastermind’ linked to 7/7 attack set to be freed to walk UK streets despite fears he is ‘still a risk’

AN al-Qaeda “mastermind”;; linked to the 7/7 attacks is set to walk free in Britain despite cops saying he remains a risk.

Haroon Aswat, 50, cannot be fully assessed by the justice system due to treatment.

The ex-Abu Hamza accomplice, jailed in the US, will leave a secure unit for .

Shadow Home Secretary said: “He could still be a real danger.”;;

Aswat helped hate preacher Abu Hamza set up a US camp.

While caged in the US in 2022 he told a British shrink: “I am a terrorist”;;, and said he’d kill Jews, Christians and Muslim enemies.

He has spent the past two years at a UK psychiatric hospital but will return to Batley, .

Shockingly, rules surrounding his treatment have prevented and the justice system from fully assessing his suitability for release.

Mr Philp said last night: “It is totally unacceptable that full risk assessments cannot be carried out.

“I call on the Government to urgently change the law.

“Those who pose a danger to the public should be taken off our streets.

“That’s non-negotiable.”;;

Ex-Met counter-terror chief Peter Clarke warned: “There have been far too many tragic cases in the UK where terrorists have been released and gone on to murder.”;;

In 1999 Aswat helped Hamza set up an camp in Oregon.

In 2001 he trained at a camp in , and in 2002 stayed at an al-Qaeda safe house in where he met two 7/7 bombers.

In 2005, police traced 20 calls to a phone linked to Aswat made by the 7/7 bombers, hours before their attack left 52 dead and more than 800 injured in central London.

That year Aswat was arrested in Zambia while possessing a terror manual and suspected bomb parts.

He was deported to the UK and held under a US arrest warrant.

Aswat fought extradition on grounds but after a nine-year battle was sent to the US in 2014.

A year later he pleaded guilty to terror charges.

His 20-year jail term was cut to seven years because of time detained at Broadmoor Hospital.

Before his US release in 2022 Aswat told visiting psychiatrist Dr Richard Taylor: “I am a terrorist.”;;

Aswat has schizoaffective disorder. Symptoms can include unpredictable and aggressive behaviour.

Dr Taylor warned Aswat might radicalise impressionable recruits.

On his return to the UK in late 2022 Aswat was detained at Bethlem Royal Hospital, South London.

His move there, under provisions of the Mental Health Act, is understood to have been spurred by national security concerns.

On Tuesday, High Court judge Mr Justice Jay ruled: “The defendant’s treatment has been effective. His release from detention is expected in the relatively near future. I understand he will return to his family in Yorkshire.”;;

Mr Justice Jay noted: “No formal terrorist risk assessment has been carried out since the defendant’s return here. The circumstances of his detention have precluded that.

“However, on the basis of the material which is available the defendant has been assessed by various police officers — including the senior officer dealing with this case — that he remains a risk to national security.”;;

The judge granted a notification order which means Aswat must register his address and bank details with police.

He will not be under surveillance or wear a tag, and can travel abroad if he tells cops in advance.