Britain's anti-terror laws are under scrutiny following the belated conviction of the hate preacher Anjem Choudary almost 20 years after his terrorism links first emerged.

Choudary is finally behind bars as police revealed he has links to 500 British jihadists fighting with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in Syria.

The 49-year-old, who has spent two decades radicalising a generation of would-be terrorists, was convicted after swearing an oath of allegiance to Isil.

But there remain questions over why it took so long to bring a successful prosecution against Choudary after it emerged he has links to 15 terror plots since 2000.

And how he was able to use social media to promote his extremists views without being censored.