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A hate preacher was falsely named as the London terror suspect by Channel 4 News last night, the broadcaster has said.

Trevor Brooks, now known as Abu Izzadeen, was initially identified by the broadcaster as the man suspected of carrying out the terrifying attack in Westminster, crediting an unnamed source.

But journalist Simon Israel later admitted that this was not the case, adding that Brooks was still in prison.

An hour after the end of the 7pm bulletin, Mr Israel tweeted the following: "The source I trusted, but ultimately I made a mistake. This time I got it wrong. Abu Izzadeen is in prison."

ABC News had earlier reported that Brooks's lawyer stated his client could not have been behind the attack that killed three people - because he remains behind bars.

(Image: Reuters)

The hate preacher was jailed for two years in January 2016 after committing a "serious and deliberate" breach of counter-terrorism restrictions.

He was born in Britain to Christian parents of Jamaican origin. He converted to Islam aged 17 with one of his brothers and changed his name.

He has appeared in court on numerous occasions on terror charges during his life.

In a statement, Channel 4 News accepted that it had made a mistake.

(Image: Metropolitan Police)

A statement issued on Twitter said: "During tonight's programme, respected senior home affairs correspondent Simon Israel quoted a source wrongly claiming the identity of the alleged Westminster attacker was believed to be Abu Izzadeen.

"This is not the case and we apologise to our viewers for the error."