Al Qaida-inspired student who stabbed MP can be freed from prison
Roshonara Choudhry, then 21, was jailed for life for a minimum of 15 years for stabbing Sir Stephen Timms twice in the stomach in May 2010, and for two offences of possessing an offensive weapon.
The attack on the now social security minister is thought to be the first al Qaida-inspired attempt to assassinate a politician on British soil.
The former King's College London student knifed East Ham MP Sir Stephen as he held a constituency surgery at the Beckton Globe community centre in east London, smiling and pretending she was going to shake hands with him before stabbing him.
After she was arrested she told detectives the stabbing was 'punishment' and 'to get revenge for the people of Iraq'.
But after a Parole Board hearing on May 20 this year, a panel decided she could be freed from jail.
A decision summary said: 'After considering the circumstances of her offending, the progress made while in custody and the evidence presented at the hearing and in the dossier, the panel was satisfied that imprisonment was no longer necessary for the protection of the public.'
The document said that at the time of the attempted murder, Choudhry, now 36, had risk factors of problems with family relationships, development of extreme beliefs about the world and willingness to use violence to address perceived injustices.
But she had engaged in programmes in prison to understand how her extreme beliefs developed and her conduct in prison was described as 'exemplary'.
The summary added: 'Ms Choudhry was assessed as having shown a very high level of insight and understanding of herself.
'She had consistently shown over many years that she no longer held the same beliefs, that she was able to manage her emotional wellbeing effectively and she would no longer be likely to be influenced by other people with strong negative views, having developed the ability to critically evaluate information and to seek help from professionals if she needs it.'
The document said the panel did not receive a victim impact statement, or representations from the justice secretary.
It was recommended that Choudhry be released on licence under conditions such as living at a designated address, with a specific curfew and subject to an exclusion zone to avoid contact with Sir Stephen.
A Parole Board spokesman said: 'Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
'Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
More UK jets being sent to the Middle East as Starmer calls for de-escalation
The Prime Minister said further military assets are being deployed to provide 'contingency support' across the region amid escalating hostilities between the two long-time foes. Additional refuelling aircraft have been deployed from UK bases and more fast jets will be sent over, it is understood. The UK already has RAF jets in the Middle East as part of Operation Shader. Speaking to reporters travelling with him on a visit to Canada, Sir Keir declined to rule out intervening in the conflict entirely but made clear he would continue pressing for de-escalation and said the 'intense' developments over the weekend would be discussed in detail at the G7 summit. 'These are obviously operational decisions and the situation is ongoing and developing and therefore I'm not going to get into the precise details, but we are moving assets, we've already been moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support across the region. So that is happening,' he said. Sir Keir added: 'Our constant message is de-escalate, and therefore everything we're doing, all discussions we're having are to do with de-escalation.' Asked whether he would rule out UK involvement, he said: 'I'm not going to get in to that.' Britain last announced it had deployed fighter jets in the region in last year, when the Government said British aircraft had played a part in efforts to prevent further escalation. It comes after Iranian state media said Tehran had warned it would target US, UK and French bases in the region if the countries help Israel thwart Iran's strikes, according to reports on Saturday. Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel overnight after a series of Israeli strikes on the heart of Tehran's nuclear programme and armed forces. Tehran's UN ambassador said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded in Israel's attacks, while its response was said to have killed at least three and wounded dozens. A Cobra meeting of high-level ministers was convened on Friday afternoon to discuss the situation. The same is not expected on Saturday but Whitehall officials were expected to be meeting. The conflict was ignited by early morning Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear bases on Friday. Israel said the barrage was necessary before Iran got any closer to building a nuclear weapon, although experts and the US government have assessed that Tehran was not actively working on such a weapon. Iran retaliated with waves of drones and ballistic missiles, with explosions lighting up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Both the UK and the US have insisted they were not involved in the Israeli strikes and that the country acted unilaterally. Sir Keir would not be drawn on whether the UK was given notice of Israel's attack after reports that the country was not forewarned following the Government's decision to sanction two far-right Israeli ministers last week. 'In relation to Israel, I had a good and constructive discussion with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, and that included discussions about the safety and security of Israel, as you would expect, between two allies,' he said. Asked if Britain had been told in advance of Israeli's military plans, the Prime Minister said: 'I'm not going to go into what information we had at the time or since. 'But we discuss these things intensely with our allies. But I'm not going to get into precisely what we knew, because it's a constant flow of information between our allies, and between us and the US.'
Glasgow Times
3 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
More UK jets being sent to the Middle East as Starmer calls for de-escalation
The Prime Minister said further military assets are being deployed to provide 'contingency support' across the region amid escalating hostilities between the two long-time foes. Additional refuelling aircraft have been deployed from UK bases and more fast jets will be sent over, it is understood. The UK already has RAF jets in the Middle East as part of Operation Shader. Speaking to reporters travelling with him on a visit to Canada, Sir Keir declined to rule out intervening in the conflict entirely but made clear he would continue pressing for de-escalation and said the 'intense' developments over the weekend would be discussed in detail at the G7 summit. 'These are obviously operational decisions and the situation is ongoing and developing and therefore I'm not going to get into the precise details, but we are moving assets, we've already been moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support across the region. So that is happening,' he said. Sir Keir added: 'Our constant message is de-escalate, and therefore everything we're doing, all discussions we're having are to do with de-escalation.' Asked whether he would rule out UK involvement, he said: 'I'm not going to get in to that.' Demonstrators in Tehran carry posters of Iranian commanders killed in Friday's Israeli strikes (Vahid Salemi/AP) Britain last announced it had deployed fighter jets in the region in last year, when the Government said British aircraft had played a part in efforts to prevent further escalation. It comes after Iranian state media said Tehran had warned it would target US, UK and French bases in the region if the countries help Israel thwart Iran's strikes, according to reports on Saturday. Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel overnight after a series of Israeli strikes on the heart of Tehran's nuclear programme and armed forces. Tehran's UN ambassador said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded in Israel's attacks, while its response was said to have killed at least three and wounded dozens. Israeli security forces inspect the site of homes destroyed by a missile fired from Iran, in Rishon Lezion, Israel (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) A Cobra meeting of high-level ministers was convened on Friday afternoon to discuss the situation. The same is not expected on Saturday but Whitehall officials were expected to be meeting. The conflict was ignited by early morning Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear bases on Friday. Israel said the barrage was necessary before Iran got any closer to building a nuclear weapon, although experts and the US government have assessed that Tehran was not actively working on such a weapon. Iran retaliated with waves of drones and ballistic missiles, with explosions lighting up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Both the UK and the US have insisted they were not involved in the Israeli strikes and that the country acted unilaterally. Sir Keir would not be drawn on whether the UK was given notice of Israel's attack after reports that the country was not forewarned following the Government's decision to sanction two far-right Israeli ministers last week. 'In relation to Israel, I had a good and constructive discussion with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, and that included discussions about the safety and security of Israel, as you would expect, between two allies,' he said. Asked if Britain had been told in advance of Israeli's military plans, the Prime Minister said: 'I'm not going to go into what information we had at the time or since. 'But we discuss these things intensely with our allies. But I'm not going to get into precisely what we knew, because it's a constant flow of information between our allies, and between us and the US.'
STV News
3 hours ago
- STV News
Starmer confirms UK moving jets to Middle East but calls for 'de-escalation'
The UK is moving jets and other military hardware to the Middle East, to provide 'contingency support', the prime minister has briefed reporters as he flies to the G7 summit of the leaders of the world's richest Keir Starmer also said that the focus of his diplomacy at the summit, which will take place in Canada, would be to put pressure on Israel and Iran to 'de-escalate', to scale back their attacks on each other. He said: 'We do have long standing concerns about the nuclear programme that Iran has. We do recognise Israel's right to self-defence. But I'm absolutely clear that this needs to de-escalate.' For British people, he warned that 'you can see the impact already on the economy and oil prices.' The wholesale price of oil has surged since Israel launched its air strikes on Iran, and then Tehran's retaliation. Starmer refused to define the circumstances in which British fighter jets would be scrambled and deployed, citing security concerns. An explosion is seen during a missile attack in Tel Aviv on Friday night. / Credit: Tomer Neuberg via AP Iran has threatened attacks on British bases if the UK were to become involved. Unlike the US, the UK has not as yet helped Israel shoot down Iranian drones or missiles. Preparations to increase UK military resources in the Middle East began on Friday morning. Refuelling aircraft have already been deployed and 'fast jets' are on their way, ITV News understands. The UK already has RAF jets in the region as part of its Operation Shader contribution. Starmer said that he has had telephone conversations with France's President Macron, Chancellor Merz of Germany, the Saudi leader Mohammed Bin Salman, America's President Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The British prime minister said that the 'levels of concern' among world leaders – especially those in the Middle East – about the conflict 'are very high.' He singled out his conversation with the Saudi leader in that context, and he said that his call with President Trump was all about lowering the tension between Israel and Iran. The G7 summit starts in Alberta on Monday. Before that, today and tomorrow, Starmer will have meetings in Ottawa with the new prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, will be chairing the summit. Asked whether the G7 leaders could be expected to agree a meaningful statement or communique to persuade Israel and Iran to cease hostilities, he said it was too early to say. Any such statement that was simultaneously critical of the Israeli army's killing of civilians and children in Gaza, and its controversial and chaotic new food distribution system, would not be signed by Trump, British diplomat's say. Starmer reiterated to reporters that he is wedded personally to the creation of a Palestinian state, the so-called two-state solution, as the only viable route to long term stability in the region. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
