Hate preacher Anjem Choudary will escape with soft sentence thanks to extraordinary government gaffe
The Attorney General said he has no way of extending the jail term - despite more than two dozen complaints within a matter of hours
THE ATTONERY GENERAL is powerless to extend hate preacher Anjem Choudary’s soft sentence because of a stunning Government gaffe.
Furious Brits yesterday demanded Jeremy Wright QC review the IS supporter’s 5 and a-half year jail term – which means he could be back on the streets by 2019.
But the Attorney General said he had no way of extending the jail term - despite more than two dozen complaints within a matter of hours.
A spokesman revealed the Government had failed to add the offence of inviting support for terror groups to list of those that can be reviewed under the “Unduly Lenient” sentencing scheme.
Under the scheme the Attorney General can call in cases of serious crime such as rape and GBH within 28 days of sentencing and extend the jail term if he judges the verdict was too soft.
Ex-Prime Minister David Cameron promised to add a “wider range” of offences to the scheme in the Tory General Election Manifesto in 2015.
Tory backbencher Philip Davies told the Sun: “I was about to write to the Attorney General to request a review.
“This is extraordinary. It is extraordinary that this isn’t considered serious enough to be fall under the Unduly Lenient sentencing scheme.
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“The Government needs to sort this out.
“I’ve had so many people in my constituency today say they think this sentence is a joke and Anjem Choudary should have got longer. They believe it’s derisory.”
Official figures last month reviewed that more than 100 offenders had their prison terms extended last year by the Attorney General – a success rate of one in seven for those who demanded a review.
One case centred on a paedophile who was originally given a suspended sentence for sexually assaulting a girl of 13.
In a statement yesterday, the Attorney General’s office said: “The sentence of Anjem Choudary is for offences not covered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and the Law Officers therefore have no legal power to request the Court of Appeal increase his sentence.
“We have committed to extending the scope of the scheme so that a greater number of offences can be considered.”
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