In 2008, following a raid on his Stoke-on-Trent residence by counter-terrorist police,[13] Khan faced scrutiny but denied terrorist affiliations in interviews with the BBC and a local newspaper under a pseudonym.[14][15] Despite a 20-month inquiry, no charges were filed against him.[3][12]
Upon returning from Pakistan,[16] Usman Khan was arrested in 2010 as part of a group of nine individuals[17] targeted by MI5’s Operation Guava. In 2012, all members of this group pleaded guilty to charges of terrorism inspired by Al-Qaeda. Their plans included bombing significant locations in the UK such as the London Stock Exchange, the Houses of Parliament, the US embassy, two rabbis at two synagogues, the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, the home of then London Mayor Boris Johnson,[18][19] as well as proposing to establish a terrorist training camp in land owned by Khan’s family in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The group also engaged in planning meetings and made preparations for travel related to terrorist activities, with intentions to carry out further attacks in the UK upon returning from the proposed camp in Kashmir.[20][21][22]
Khan proposed to raise funds in the UK rather than overseas, arguing that supporters in the UK earned in a day what donors in Kashmir earned in a month. He added: "On Jobseeker's Allowance we can earn that, never mind working for that."[23] His home bugged by MI5, he was recorded calling non-Muslims "dogs."[12] Following his arrest, Khan admitted travelling to the plotter's 2010 tactical meetings in Cardiff in November and in Newport in December.[24] Khan's plans to build a terror-training camp in Kashmir never materialised and "there was no evidence that there was any real funding to build it".[25] The group had formed in October.[20] The terror network's organisational chart was found in Khan's home.[19] In addition to confessing to terrorism planning, Khan admitted terrorism fundraising and possession of the Al Qaeda magazine Inspire.[26]
Following his arrest, evidence of Khan’s advanced knowledge in field craft was noted, highlighting his significant role within the group.[27] In 2012, he was sentenced to imprisonment for public protection and an indeterminate period in prison with a minimum term of eight years,[28][29][30] reflecting the judge’s assessment of Khan and his associates from Stoke-on-Trent as exceptionally committed jihadists operating at a level of seriousness and effectiveness above that of their co-defendants.[12]
Rehabilitation and release from prison
Khan was originally sentenced to indefinite imprisonment for public safety. This sentence, however, was overturned in 2013 when Khan, alongside Nazam Hussain and Mohammed Shahjahan, appealed. The Court of Appeal, led by Lord Justice Leveson, re-evaluated the perceived threat level of these individuals compared to their co-defendants, resulting in a reduced sentence of 16 years with eligibility for automatic release after eight.[20][31] Upon completion of this term, Khan was released from Belmarsh Prison in December 2018 under standard licence conditions, which included probation supervision.[32]Stafford Borough Council, with support from multiple agencies, arranged suitable housing following his release.[33]
During his imprisonment, Khan engaged in the Healthy Identity Intervention Programme, aimed at rehabilitating terrorism offenders. This participation continued post-release with the Desistance and Disengagement Programme, focusing on tackling terrorism's root causes.[34][12] Khan's involvement in these programmes led to his recognition as a rehabilitation "success story" by a Cambridge University programme, culminating in a case study feature.[35][3] Khan would later tragically kill two individuals associated with the Cambridge University programme.[36] Following these events, discussions emerged regarding the potential overestimation of recidivism fears, with a paper published by the CTC Sentinel in April 2020 described Khan and another recent terrorism recidivist as an atypical example, noting a recidivism rate of less than 5% among terrorists.[12][37]
The terms of Khan's temporary release licence did not allow for travel to London; special permission would have been needed for him to participate in Cambridge University's Learning Together "Five Year Celebration" on the day he carried out the stabbing.[38][39] Khan sat quietly during the celebration event, attending storytelling and writing workshops; even giving feedback on one.[40] He then stabbed two Learning Together organisers in the chest,[41] killing them, and injured three other people. He was wearing an electronic tag and a fake suicide jacket when he was shot following the stabbing.[42]
Burial and aftermath
Following his death, Khan's body was taken to a mosque in Birmingham, for a ritual janazah Muslim funerary ceremony.[43] The body was then flown to Islamabad.[44] Khan's burial took place in Kajlani in Kashmir.[45]
"Usman Khan Call 4 Justice" graffiti in support of Khan appeared on multiple walls in his Stoke hometown in the week following his death.[46][47]
Links to terror group
Khan had previously been connected to Al-Muhajiroun, the group led by Anjem Choudary.[29][48][30] He was said to be inspired by Al-Qaeda.[49] Khan's solicitor Vajahat Sharif claimed that Khan had become disillusioned with Al-Muhajiroun and that during his prison sentence he had repeatedly requested the help of a deradicaliser, to no avail. Sharif said that in 2018 Khan appeared to be rehabilitated, and that he may have been "re-groomed" by extremists after his release.[50]
Political and social debate
In 2012, after being convicted of offences related to a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange, Khan was sentenced to be kept in prison for an indeterminate time. This meant that he could not be released whilst he was still considered to be a danger to the public. Following an appeal in 2013, his indeterminate sentence was quashed, and in its place he was given a 16-year prison sentence, which meant he would be entitled to automatic release on licence after having served eight years.[51] Questions were also raised about the level of monitoring he was subject to by the authorities responsible after his release.[51][52] The parole board confirmed that it had no involvement in deciding when Khan was released from prison, saying Khan "appears to have been released automatically on licence" even though he had a "serious long-term plan" and a commitment to terrorism.[51][20]
Chris Phillips, former head of the UK National Counter Terrorism Security Office, commented the justice system was "playing Russian roulette" with the lives of the public. Phillips commented that the original trial judge "wanted this man in prison for a very very long time", and described Khan's release as "quite incredible". Paul Gibson, former head of counter-terrorism at the UK Ministry of Defence, supported the criticism, commenting on the release: "A lot of people will find that extraordinary."[51]
^Ali Shah, Murtaza (30 November 2019). "Usman Khan had no relation with Pakistan". Geo TV. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2019. Usman Khan was born in Stoke-on-Trent to working-class immigrant parents from Azad Kashmir.
^"Terror group members who planned to bomb London Stock Exchange jailed". The Guardian. Press Association. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2019. It was envisaged by them all that ultimately they and the other recruits may return to the UK as trained and experienced terrorists available to perform terrorist attacks in this country.
^"Family of 'caring' London Bridge attack victim Saskia Jones tell of 'devastation'". Daily Mirror. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019. Mr Merritt said that his son had helped Khan, adding: "I can't imagine how someone who had been befriended and helped by someone like Jack could then, in a fairly calculated way, kill them.
^Thomas Renard (April 2020). "Overblown: Exploring the Gap Between the Fear of Terrorist Recidivism and the Evidence". CTC Sentinel. 13 (4). Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020. This was approved despite evidence that Khan and Amman are more likely to be eye-catching outliers than a harbinger of things to come. Indeed, according to recently released figures, only six terrorist offenders have been reconvicted of a further terrorist offense in England and Wales, out of 196 offenders released between January 2013 and December 2019 (3%).
