
Streatham terrorist Sudesh Amman was freed from jail after serving just half his sentence even though he 'still held extremist views' - after Boris Johnson vowed to bring in stronger anti-terror measures following the last terror attack in the capital.

The 20-year-old extremist was shot dead by officers in Streatham, South London - a mile from his bail hostel - on Sunday afternoon at about 2pm after he went on a horrific rampage, stabbing two people.

Amman had been jailed for three years and four months in December 2018, when he pleaded guilty to 13 counts including possessing bomb-making manuals and knife-fighting guides, but he was automatically released just days ago, halfway through his sentence, despite fears he still held extremist views.

Police had kept Amman, who was released on licence and subject to a curfew, under active surveillance. A source said concerns about his behaviour while in prison included language that implied he still held 'extremist views'.

In the Queen's Speech before Christmas, Boris Johnson immediately promised changes including tougher surveillance and 14-year sentences for all serious terror offences, however:

The Parole Board confirmed it did not reassess Amman to ascertain if he was a danger before his release

Amman had displayed several 'risk indicators', including lack of remorse and allegiance to an extremist group

It was 'obvious' to the Henry Jackson society that he was 'one of the most high-risk extremists around'

In December Mr Johnson had promised a review of license conditions for 74 terrorists released from jail early

Mr Johnson, whose government is under pressure to answer how yesterday's terror attack was allowed to happen just weeks after he promised tighter controls, has now said the Government is preparing to take action to end the automatic early release of prisoners currently in jail for terrorist offences.

On January 21 the government vowed to introduce new anti-terror measures in the 'first 100 days' of its administration to carry out the Prime Minister's pledge on tougher sentences, overhaul the terrorist licensing regime, double the number of specialist counter-terror probation officers and introduce polygraph testing.

The Conservative election victory in December would suggest a deadline of March 21 to implement these.

Now former Met Police chief superintendent Dal Babu is calling for a public inquiry into why Amman was let out of prison just months after Usman Khan - who had himself been convicted of a terrorism offence in 2012 - carried out his attack on London Bridge last year.

Armed police shoot dead extremist Sudesh Amman, who was wearing a fake suicide vest, after he grabbed a knife from a shop and stabbed a man and a woman in a brutal high-street rampage in Streatham, South London, at about 2pm yesterday

Sudesh Amman, 20, from Harrow in North West London, had previously fantasised about carrying out a terror attack with a blade or with acid while riding a moped and had been jailed in December 2018 - before being released just days ago

Forensics on Streatham High Road, where terrorist Sudesh Amman stabbed shoppers on Sunday before being shot by police

The Prime Minister, whose government is under pressure to answer how yesterday's terror attack was allowed to happen just weeks after he promised tighter controls, has now said the Government is preparing to take action to end the automatic early release of prisoners currently in jail for terrorist offences

What Boris's government promised – but so far NOTHING is in place In the Queen's Speech before Christmas, following his December election win, Boris Johnson pledged to end the early release of of dangerous terrorists and introduce minimum 14 year jail terms. Last year two people were killed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan, 28, at Fishmongers' Hall after he attended a prisoner rehabilitation event. He had been released on licence in December 2018. 'If you are convicted of a serious terrorist offence, there should be a mandatory minimum sentence of 14 years - and some should never be released,' the Prime Minster said then. 'Further, for all terrorism and extremist offences the sentence announced by the judge must be the time actually served - these criminals must serve every day of their sentence, with no exceptions.' Mr Johnson has now said the Government has 'moved quickly' to introduce measures to strengthen the UK's response to terrorism. Last month details of The Counter Terrorism (Sentencing and Release) Bill were released. They included forcing dangerous terrorists who receive extended determinate sentences to serve the whole time behind bars, and scrapping early release from jail for those classed as dangerous and handed extended determinate sentences. Terrorists deemed not to be a risk would have to serve two-thirds of their sentence before the Parole Board could consider them for release, as part of the bill. The required legislation has yet to be passed by MPs as politicians concentrated on getting Brexit done. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was 'angry' this morning at the 'lack of progress', saying the Streatham attack on Sunday was 'clearly foreseeable'. He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'One of the things we were promised in November when we had the two fatalities is that the Government would learn the lessons and make sure they would change the policies they brought in a few years ago... 'But for an inch this way or that way, but for the brilliance of the medics and the speed of the police, there would have been two fatalities and many more. 'And that's one of the reasons why I'm not just frustrated but I'm angry at the changes made in the past and the lack of progress in making the changes we were promised in November.' Advertisement

He said they had been told at the time there would be a 'comprehensive risk assessment' on terror criminals being released, but 'fundamental failures' have now led to a situation where someone 'who's clearly very dangerous has been released on the 50 per cent rule and within days they've gone out and tried to kill people'.

The right-leaning Henry Jackson Society identified Amman as an extremist close to automatic early release in a newspaper report in December, warning that he was still too dangerous to be freed. A spokesperson today told MailOnline Amman would have been one of the 'top five' considered by British security forces and 'one of the most dangerous offenders' in the country.

Boris Johnson today said: 'We are bringing forward legislation to stop the system of automatic early release. The difficulty is how to apply retrospectively to the cohort of people who currently qualify,' he said.

'It is time to take action to ensure, irrespective of the law we are bringing in, people in the current stream don't qualify automatically for early release.'

Mr Johnson had pledged to end the early release of of dangerous terrorists and introduce minimum 14 year jail terms - having first made the commitment in the wake of November's deadly London Bridge attack - shortly after his election win.

But the required legislation has yet to be passed by MPs as politicians concentrated on getting Brexit done.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was 'angry' this morning at the 'lack of progress', saying the Streatham attack on Sunday was 'clearly foreseeable'.

Mr Khan warned that prisons are now 'warehouses' for radicalisation where offenders are learning from a 'university of crime' rather than being rehabilitated.

He called on the Government to give jails resources and support to 'properly punish and reform' those convicted of a serious offence as well as handing judges the power to pass sentences which would keep dangerous terrorists behind bars.

At present most offenders handed an immediate jail term are typically released halfway through their sentence on licence under rules introduced in 2005.

Mr Khan said ministers and officials needed to 'recognise' assurances must be sought that criminals no longer pose a risk to the public when they are released from jail.

Referring to Amman, he said: 'The reality is this was a man convicted of a terror-related offence, this was a man released very recently on January 23 who police and the authorities knew was a potential danger.

'And my concern is this was an attack that was both predictable and preventable.'

As of the end of September, there were 224 terrorists behind bars in Great Britain with most thought to be holding Islamist-extremist views.

Streatham terrorist kept a notebook saying his goal was to 'die as a martyr' Sudesh Amman kept a notebook in which he wrote that his 'goals in life' were: 'Die as a shuhada', which means martyr, and 'go to jannah', which translates as paradise Sudesh Amman kept a notebook with his four 'life goals' – including being a martyr and going to paradise. Amman's notes were revealed when he was jailed for 13 terror offences at the Old Bailey, 14 months before his terror rampage in Streatham. He kept a notebook in which he wrote that his 'goals in life' were: 'Die as a shuhada', which means martyr, and 'go to jannah', which translates as paradise. Aged 18 at the time of his sentencing in December 2018, Amman had smiled and waved at the public gallery as he was jailed for three years and four months. Amman is believed to have been back on the streets for just a few weeks before the stabbing attack - fulfilling one of his so-called life goals of dying a martyr. His stash of manuals on bomb-making, knife-fighting and close combat included the titles Bloody Brazilian Knife Fighting and How To Make A Bomb In Your Kitchen. Amman posted Al Qaeda propaganda on a family WhatsApp group, exposing siblings as young as 11 to graphic material, and had shared bomb-making literature via Skype chat. He had told his girlfriend of his wish to carry out acid attacks and that he preferred the idea of a knife attack over using bombs. Advertisement

The 'vast majority', 77% (173), were branded as holding Islamist-extremist views, according to Home Office data.

A further 17% were categorised as holding far right-wing ideologies

Jonathan Hall QC, Independent Review of Terrorism Legislation, said the Government could be preparing emergency legislation along the lines of post-9/11 laws, which could include civil measures to detain individuals who have not committed a crime.

In December the Henry Jackson Society warned that up to 180 convicted Islamist terrorists had been released from jail early over the past two decades, with court records showing 187 of the 264 jailed before 2015 had been eligible for early release.

Their report named Amman as one of three who was up for release.

A spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Amman had a lot of risk indicators: lack of remorse at sentencing, evidence of encryption, relatively young age, allegience to extremist group, ie ISIS.

'Every extremist risk indicator you could possibly have. It was obvious to us that he was one of the most high-risk extremists around.

'Looking at the level of how closely he was monitored he would have been in the top five considered by security services in the UK.

'That level of detail is phenomenally expensive. There is no way he wasn't one of the most dangerous offenders in the UK.'

Ian Acheson, who led an independent review of Islamist extremism in prisons, probation and youth justice in 2016, said the risk-management system was 'broken', telling the BBC's Today programme he was 'concerned' about the prison service's ability to manage terrorist offenders.

He said: 'I am still unconvinced that the prison service itself has the aptitude or the attitude to assertively manage terrorist offenders... We may need to accept that there are certain people who are so dangerous they must be kept in prison indefinitely.'

Amman's mother Haleema Khan, 41, is said to be 'disgusted' and 'very upset' with her 20-year-old son's knife rampage and rejects his fanatical Islamic extremist beliefs, a source close to the family said.

Amman lived with Mrs Khan and his five younger brothers in Harrow, North West London, before he was jailed for terror offences at the Old Bailey in December 2018.

Mrs Khan, who has since moved to the Bedfordshire market town of Dunstable, is now trying to get her son's body from police 'as soon as possible' to bury him.

Pictured is Amman as a teenager. His mother Haleema Khan, 41, is said to be 'disgusted' and 'very upset' with her 20-year-old son's knife rampage and rejects his fanatical Islamic extremist beliefs, a source close to the family said

Forensics on Streatham High Road today where jihadi terrorist Sudesh Amman stabbed shoppers on Sunday afternoon

Police seal off a bail hostel last night on Leigham Court Road in Streatham, around a mile from the scene of yesterday's attack

Police load items into a car in Streatham overnight as they search a bail hostel. The extremist had been jailed for three years and four months in December 2018, when he pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing terrorist documents

Some of the items, which include electronics and handwritten notes, seized from the terrorist's hostel in Streatham overnight

A family source told MailOnline today: 'Haleema is disgusted by what he has done and his beliefs, but she is a mother and has lost a son so she is very upset and sad.

TIMELINE: TERROR CRIMINALS ATTACK AFTER BEING RELEASED February 2012: Usman Khan is sentenced for planning to set up a terrorist camp in Pakistan 2018: Khan, 28, is released from prison on license with an electronic tag December 2018: Sudesh Amman is sentenced to three years and four months for sharing bomb-making manuals with relatives - one of 13 counts November 2019: Khan attended an event at Fishmonger's Hall organised by Learning Together, a Cambridge University programme that helps rehabilitate inmates and ex-offenders and murdered Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25 December 2019: Boris Johnson promises to bring in changes to the justice system, including 14-year minimum sentences for serious terror offences and a government review of license conditions The Henry Jackson society report Amman as one of three convicted terrorists who may soon be released January 2020: Amman is believed to have been automatically released from prison without undergoing a Parole Board assessment February 2, 2010: Amman stabs two people and is shot dead by police in Streatham High Road Advertisement

'But they are relieved that he wasn't able to kill anyone. It has hit them very hard, but now they are trying to get his body from the police as soon as possible and bury him.

'This is done as quickly as one can for Muslims as is custom and prayers for him will begin shortly.'

Metropolitan Police officers were seen overnight combing through a bail hostel in Streatham, where Amman is believed to have lived following his automatic early release from prison.

Detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command said they were searching two residential addresses - one in South London and the other nearly 40 miles away in the Hertfordshire market town of Bishop's Stortford.

No arrests have been made.

The Ministry of Justice had said that the most serious offenders had sentences that required parole board approval for release.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a review in December into the licence conditions of 74 terrorists who had been let out of jail early, following the London Bridge atrocity by convicted terrorist Usman Khan on November 29

A Whitehall source claimed Amman was released despite concerns because the law didn't give them the power to keep him in jail.

Residents at the bail hostel where he was believed to have been staying claim he had previously tried to take his life and had been asking for medication.

Speaking after Amman was named as the attacker, Henry Jackson Society fellow Dr Paul Stott said: 'We need an immediate moratorium on the release of terrorist prisoners, whilst the government reviews each individual case.'

Yesterday, while being under active police surveillance and 'very stringent licencing conditions', he launched a horrific knife rampage in Streatham, leaving one man in a life-threatening condition, though he later recovered.

Police outside the bail hostel in Streatham overnight where Amman is thought to have stayed after his early prison release

In the rush to get to the scene yesterday, this police car crashed into a driveway on a residential street a mile away

What was Sudesh Amman jailed for? Sudesh Amman was jailed for possessing and distributing terrorist documents in December 2018. Wearing a black prayer cap and long black tunic, Amman smirked when he was told that he was facing a sentence of just three years and four months. The Islamic State fanatic kept a notebook in which he wrote that his 'goals in life' were: 'Die as a shuhada', which means martyr, and 'go to jannah', which translates as paradise. The Old Bailey heard he told his girlfriend to kill her parents and tried to radicalise his younger brothers. He also sent Isis recruitment material and shared an Al Qaeda magazine to a family WhatsApp group that included his three younger brothers aged between 11 and 15, telling one of them he wanted to 'blow myself up'. Advertisement

Wearing a fake suicide vest, Amman stole a 10-inch, £3.99 blade from a convenience store and stabbed the man, in his 40s, in the stomach before knifing a female cyclist, in her 50s, in the back as he ran down the street.

Armed police were on the scene within minutes, having been following him because they suspected he was going to launch a terrorist attack imminently. After he failed to stop, Amman was shot dead outside a Boots chemist.

In the rush to get there, one police car crashed into a driveway on a residential street a mile away. Officers are thought to have called for back-up in a panic after seeing Amman steal the knife before launching his attack, reportedly yelling 'Allahu Akbar'.

Another woman received minor injuries in the attack, believed to have been caused by flying glass following a police gunshot.

Overall, 353 terror criminals and suspects have been released from prison between June 2012 and June 2019, of which 245 were convicted of offences.

Police, security services and probation teams are examining the files of around 200 known extremists with some reportedly facing bans from large towns and cities.

Photos from the scene in Streatham yesterday show a lifeless body face down on the pavement with what have been described as 'silver canisters' strapped to his chest, while a large knife is lying beside him

Police load the body of Amman into a private ambulance yesterday evening after he was shot dead in Streatham

Police look at Amman lying face down on Streatham High Road at about 2pm yesterday (left) then officers back off (right)

Police were filmed standing behind an unmarked police car and pointing their guns towards Amman in Streatham yesterday

About 70 of the cases relate to convicted terrorists freed on licence before the end of their sentences. At least 20 jihadists are said to be back in London where they committed the terror offences that put them in prison, reported the Sun.

ISIS fanatic Amman was jailed for more than three years in December 2018.

Police car crashes into driveway on route to Streatham attack A police car responding to the Streatham attack smashed into a wall a mile away Armed police were on the scene in Streatham, south London within minutes as Sudesh Amman launched his horrific knife rampage. Officers had been following Amman because they suspected he was going to launch a terrorist attack imminently. However, in the rush to get to the scene, one armed response vehicle crashed into a driveway on a residential street a mile from the scene. The front of the car was severely damaged in the collision. Officers are thought to have called for back-up in a panic after seeing Amman steal the knife before launching his attack, reportedly yelling 'Allahu Akbar'. Advertisement

The then-18-year-old fantasised about carrying out a terror attack with a blade or with acid while riding a moped and also shared Al Qaeda propaganda on a WhatsApp group used by his family.

When he was sentenced, he couldn't stop laughing, grinning and waving to his mother and brother in the public gallery with no sign of remorse.

Police found notebooks belonging to the North West London College student when he was arrested, where he jotted down how to make explosives and wrote about how he wanted to be a martyr.

Amman asked his girlfriend to kill her parents because they were 'kuffar', showed her beheading videos and also shared how he was planning a terrorist attack in Queensbury, northwest London, during Skype chats.

His stash of manuals on bomb-making, knife fighting and close combat included the titles Bloody Brazilian Knife Fighting and How to Make A Bomb In Your Kitchen.

Amman posted a link to a pdf copy of the 'Inspire' magazine focusing on the idea of the 'Lone Jihad' in a family WhatsApp group in January this year, exposing children as young as 11 to extremist material.

The document contained an article about 'the successful pressure cooker bomb' and provided detailed instructions on how to maximise casualties through the use of IEDs.

After he was jailed, Alexis Boon, head of the Met Police counter-terrorism command, said: 'His fascination with dying in the name of terrorism was clear in a notepad we recovered from his home.'

At the time of his trial, prosecutor Kelly Brocklehurst said: 'The defendant had discussed with his family, friends and girlfriend his strong and often extreme views on jihad, the kuffar, and his desire to carry out a terrorist attack.

Police inspect the suspect (left) after he was shot and lying face down on the pavement (right) wearing a fake suicide vest

Officers raced to the scene outside a supermarket in Streatham at around 2pm on Sunday following reports of gunfir

'Much of his fascination with conducting an attack was focused on using a knife but reference was also made to committing acid attacks on mopeds.

'The Crown contends that the defendant's interest in Islamic extremism and Daesh in particular is more than a mere immature fascination with the taboo and with graphic violence.

Boris Johnson announces 'fundamental changes' to the justice system after Streatham attack Boris Johnson has promised there will be 'fundamental changes' to the system for dealing with convicted terrorists after Sunday's attack by a newly-released prisoner. Mr Johnson's comments echo those made after London's last terror attack when two people were killed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan at Fishmongers' Hall in December. Khan, 28, had been attending a prisoner rehabilitation event after being released on licence in December 2018. 'If you are convicted of a serious terrorist offence, there should be a mandatory minimum sentence of 14 years - and some should never be released,' the Prime Minster said then. Speaking after Sunday's attack, Mr Johnson said: 'An investigation is taking place at pace to establish the full facts of what happened, and the Government will provide all necessary support to the police and security services as this work goes on. 'Following the awful events at Fishmonger's Hall in December, we have moved quickly to introduce a package of measures to strengthen every element of our response to terrorism - including longer prison sentences and more money for the police. 'Tomorrow, we will announce further plans for fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences.' Advertisement

'He is clearly someone with sincerely held and concerning ideological beliefs which motivate him to collect and disseminate such material.

'For example, he is seen telling his girlfriend in online chat how he has declared a pledge to Islamic State and wishes to purge society and carry out acid attacks.

'Elsewhere he is seen telling her he prefers the idea of a knife attack over use of bombs.'

After being jailed for his offences, he was automatically released just a few days ago, after serving half of his sentence, despite authorities being concerned that he still held extremist views.

A Whitehall source said this evening: 'He was under surveillance, that is what allowed police to do their job so quickly.

'It could have been much worse than it was.

'There had been concerns when he was in prison but there were no powers for any authority to keep him behind bars.

'There was nothing that could be done to keep him behind bars under existing laws, hence why he was under surveillance and strict licencing conditions.

'He had served half of his sentence, which was more than three years, so had to be released despite concerns over his conduct.

'The public will look at this case and say why was this individual not kept behind bars and the Prime Minister shares that view.

'This shines a light on something that clearly needs addressing.'

The source added that the 'very stringent' licencing conditions included a curfew.

In one video, police toting machine guns and masked undercover officers are seen approaching Amman's body before rapidly moving away from the area

Scotland Yard declared the broad daylight carnage as a terror-related incident around an hour after first reports from the scene

Boris Johnson has said he will announce plans on Monday for 'fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences' following the terror-related incident in south London.

In a statement, the Prime Minister said: 'My thoughts are with the injured victims and their loved ones following today's horrific attack in Streatham.

'I want to pay tribute to the speed and bravery of the police who responded and confronted the attacker - preventing further injuries and violence - and all of the emergency services who came to the aid of others.

'An investigation is taking place at pace to establish the full facts of what happened, and the Government will provide all necessary support to the police and security services as this work goes on.

'Following the awful events at Fishmonger's Hall in December, we have moved quickly to introduce a package of measures to strengthen every element of our response to terrorism - including longer prison sentences and more money for the police.

'Tomorrow, we will announce further plans for fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences.'

David Chawner, 31, a stand-up comedian who witnessed the attack, told ITV's Good Morning Britain of the attack: 'I was speaking to an armed police officer and he seemed distressed at how long the paramedics took.'

Asked about how Amman was a known threat, he added: 'It makes me angry, it makes me frustrated like I think so many people are, but I think just the mundanity of it the regularity of it the fact that it was just a normal street on a Sunday

'There were people still riding bikes really annoyed (saying) 'can I just get through'? Normal life goes on.

'I've become immune to this because I was actually caught up in the London Bridge attacks recently as well. I was on the Bridge when it happened because I work around there - I was doing some filming around there.'

The jihadis who slipped through the net: How Streatham knifeman Sudesh Amman is latest terrorist to carry out an attack while on British authorities' radar

Sudesh Amman was able to stab people in Streatham despite close monitoring

He was released from jail in January under 'very stringent' licencing conditions

Second convicted terrorist to carry out a knife attack in Britain within ten weeks

London Bridge and Manchester attackers were also known to security services

The convicted terrorist who went on a knife rampage in south London yesterday is the latest in a growing list of Islamists to strike while on the radar of security services.

Sudesh Amman was able to stab two people on Streatham high street despite being under close surveillance by MI5 and anti-terror police following his release from jail.

He was freed just a few days ago under 'very stringent' licencing conditions, meaning armed police who were tracking him arrived on the scene in moments.

But officers were unable to prevent him from knifing one man in the stomach and a female cyclist in the back before he was eventually shot dead outside Boots chemist.

Amman, 20, becomes the second convicted terrorist to carry out a knife attack in Britain within ten weeks, following a similar rampage by London Bridge attacker Usman Khan.

Sunday's terror attack by Sudesh Amman (left) was the second knife rampage by a convicted terrorist to take place in ten weeks, following the atrocity committed by Usman Khan (right)

Armed police shoot dead extremist Sudesh Amman, who was wearing a fake suicide vest, after he grabbed a knife from a shop and stabbed a man and a woman in a brutal high-street rampage in Streatham, South London, at about 2pm yesterday

Usman Khan, 28, killed two people at Fishmongers' Hall in 2019

Khan, 28, was shot dead by police on London Bridge in November after killing two people at a nearby rehabilitation conference while out on licence for terror offences.

The son of a taxi driver, he got an indeterminate jail term in 2012 after admitting preparing terrorist acts, including the plot and starting a terror training camp in Pakistan.

In 2013 the Court of Appeal changed that to a 16-year fixed sentence which meant Khan had to serve only half.

While on licence in November, he stabbed Cambridge graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, to death while wearing a fake suicide vest at Fishmonger's Hall.

In the aftermath of Khan's attack, it was claimed Khan had reformed and become a model prisoner while in prison, which helped him win permission to travel unescorted from his Stafford bedsit to London.

But Khan was moved to a Category A prison after he was involved in incidents of violence and threats to endanger staff.

Khan was released from HMP Woodhill in Buckinghamshire in December 2018.

Just over two months ago, on November 29, convicted terrorist Usman Khan (pictured) killed two Cambridge graduates before he was fatally shot on London Bridge

Khuram Butt, 27, ringleader of 2017 London Bridge attack that killed eight people

The ringleader of the 2017 London Bridge attack that killed eight people, Butt had been the subject of a two-year investigation by security services.

However the chief coroner, in a report into the atrocity, said police and MI5 did not recognise the threat he posed.

Mark Lucraft QC said this was despite Butt's association with Islamic State fanatic Anjem Choudary and an appearance in the documentary The Jihadi Next Door.

The probe was twice suspended due to pressure on resources and the authorities did not pass on tip-offs about his extremism, including one from a family member.

There was also a two-month delay in translating a request from the Italian authorities for information about his fellow attacker Youssef Zaghba.

An Old Bailey inquest heard that Butt, who was an MI5 subject of interest (SIO), had looked at extremist material online in the months and years before the attack, including propaganda for so-called Islamic State, violent images and sermons from extremist preachers.

Bereaved families said MI5 and counter-terror police should review their assumptions about the weight placed on an SIO's so-called mindset material.

Mr Lucraft said there is no evidence investigators are not capable of making those judgments properly after police and security services pointed out that many SIOs possess such material.

Like Usman Khan and the 2017 London Bridge attackers Khuram Butt (pictured), Rachid Redouane and Yousef Zaghba, Amman went on a knife rampage wearing a fake suicide vest

Butt is pictured on the left appearing in 'The Jihadis Next Door' which aired on January 20, 2016

Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba (shown left to right) killed eight people before they themselves were shot dead

Khalid Masood, 52, who killed five people in 2017 Westminster attack

Masood killed five people and injured more than 50 after he mounted the pavement in his car outside the Houses of Parliament and went on a knife rampage.

The 52-year-old Briton was probed by MI5 from as early as 2004, with concerns high enough that he was classified as a threat to national security.

However the file on him was closed in 2012 as it was deemed that he was not considered a serious threat.

Masood, a violent criminal who picked up a string of convictions during his time living in Kent and Sussex, is believed to have converted to Islam while he was serving two prison sentences between 2000 and 2004.

After emerging from prison, he went to Saudi Arabia to teach English in trip a thought to have been inspired by his new-found spirituality.

When he returned from Saudi around 2009, he moved to Luton, a city in which a number of extremists and Islamic radicals were operating.

Theresa May would later tell the House of Commons that 52-year-old Masood was considered a 'peripheral' figure at the time.

Salman Abedi, Manchester Arena bomber who killed 22 in 2017

Abedi, the jidahi terrorist who detonated a suicide vest at Manchester Arena in 2017 and killed 22 people, was also known to British security services.

But was not deemed a high risk, despite five community leaders reporting him for extremist views.

A report found a series of failures on behalf of security services, including how he had visited a category A extremist inmate in prison.

Counter-terror police were also alerted to Abedi frequently travelling to Libya from 2014 onwards but he was not made the subject of travel restrictions or monitoring.

Abedi's case was flagged for review, but was not re-examined before he slaughtered parents and children at the Ariana Grande concert

The Abedi family, originally from Libya, fled during the Gaddafi dictatorship with the father returning to fight with opposition forces when the uprising began in 2011.

Both brothers travelled to Libya in April 2017, then Salman returned alone before carrying out the suicide attack in Manchester.

He detonated his device at the end of the concert, with 353 people, including 175 children, around him in the foyer of the venue.

As well as the 22 dead, 16 people suffered serious injuries including paralysis, loss of limbs, internal injuries, and serious facial injuries involving complicated plastic surgery.

Abedi, the jidahi terrorist who detonated a suicide vest at Manchester Arena in 2017 and killed 22 people, was also known to British security services

Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi (left) and London Bridge attacker Khuram Butt (right) were both known to MI5 but were not actively being investigated at the time of their attacks

Ahmed Hassan, 18, whose homemade bomb failed to explode at Parsons Green Tube station in 2017

The 18-year-old Iraqi asylum-seeker left a homemade bomb on a District line commuter train in 2017 which partially exploded after the train arrived at Parsons Green station.

He claimed during an asylum interview that he had been trained to kill by ISIS against his will and spent several hours a day in a mosque under their command, receiving religious education.

After those comments, he was brought to the attention of MI5 on February 2 2016 during a discussion with Counter-Terrorism Policing, but he was never made a subject of interest.

Instead he was referred to the Channel mentoring scheme - part of the Prevent de-radicalisaton programme - in February 2016.

It was not until June 2016 that he was made an 'active' Channel case and nine formal meetings were then held of the joint agency Channel panel at which his case was discussed.

However, Hassan was never assigned a mentor, for a six-month period in 2017 there were no panel meetings, and at the time of the attack, the panel was considering closing his case.

Ahmed Hassan (pictured in a mugshot, left, and on the day of his attack, right) was sentenced to life in prison

Darren Osborne, 48, killed one in 2017 Finsbury Park mosque attack

Darren Osborne (pictured) drove a vehicle into a group of people gathered near a mosque in Finsbury Park

Darren Osborne, from Cardiff, drove a vehicle into a group of people gathered near a mosque in Finsbury Park in north London on June 19, 2017, killing Makram Ali.

He was said to have had an extensive criminal history dating back to 1984, including 33 convictions for 102 offences ranging from offences against the person to drugs and theft.

He had not been investigated by MI5 or Counter-Terrorism Police before launching his attack and was 'not known to be a member of, or have links to, any extremist right-wing groups.'

Osborne first appeared a court in his home town of Weston Super Mare aged 15 in 1984. Before the terror attack, he was last in court in 2014.

He had planned to drive into crowds attending a pro-Palestinian march inLondon in June last year, and he claimed he hoped to kill Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and London mayor Sadiq Khan.

But road closures meant he couldn't get near the march and, after driving around London looking for Muslim targets, he drove at a group of people outside the Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park.

Sudesh Amman, 20, stabbed two people in Streatham in 2020

Amman was a convicted terrorist under police surveillance having recently been freed from prison when he went on a knife rampage in Streatham.

The 20-year-old bearded Islamic fanatic, who was on licence and known for having a fascination with knives, dived into a local convenience store to steal a £3.99 blade before embarking on a bloody stabbing spree.

Wearing a fake suicide vest, he targeted pedestrians at random on the Sunday afternoon, stabbing one man in the stomach, before knifing a female cyclist in the back just after 2pm in Streatham, South London.

Armed police who had been following him closely, were on the scene within minutes, chasing him down the high street shouting 'stop' before opening fire, shooting him dead outside a Boots chemist.

He was jailed in December 2018 for three years and had served only half his more than three year sentence for the possession and distribution of extremist material.

Whitehall sources said he had been very recently released 'despite concerns over his conduct' because the law did not give them the power to keep him locked up.

He was let out at the end of January on 'very stringent' licencing conditions included a curfew, it is understood.

Today, the Prime Minister is expected to come forward with new plans to further crack down on terrorist offenders.

Knifeman who believed in rape, beheadings and killing non-believers: How Streatham attacker Sudesh Amman, 20, was jailed for having bomb-making manuals, planned an atrocity over Skype, and urged his girlfriend to kill her own parents

When he was jailed for 13 terror offences, Sudesh Amman couldn't stop laughing.

The teenage extremist with a fascination for knives refused to stand for the judge at the Old Bailey and spent his sentencing hearing in December 2018 smiling and waving to his mother and brother in the public gallery.

Wearing a black prayer cap and long black tunic, Amman smirked when he was told that he was facing a sentence of just three years and four months.

The then 18-year-old Islamic State fanatic kept a notebook in which he wrote that his 'goals in life' were: 'Die as a shuhada', which means martyr, and 'go to jannah', which translates as paradise.

The Old Bailey heard the maths and science student at North West London College told his girlfriend to kill her parents and tried to radicalise his younger brothers.

He also sent Isis recruitment material and shared an Al Qaeda magazine to a family WhatsApp group that included his three younger brothers aged between 11 and 15, telling one of them he wanted to 'blow myself up'.

ISIS fan Sudesh Amman, 18, was sentenced at the Old Bailey after he pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing terrorist documents

Amman was said to obsessed with knives and had bought a combat knife and airgun in readiness for a terror attack. He had downloaded a number of manuals showing how to kill people, including one called Bloody Brazilian Knife-Fighting Techniques.

The 79-page manual included instructions on inflicting damage to the body with knives and how to target the vital organs in order to inflict 'quick loss of consciousness and death'.

Another manual called Close Combat was a 113-page US Marine Corps training manual which included instructions and photographs on how to use a combat knife to target the neck, groin and heart.

Chillingly, he asked if he could have a knife delivered to his girlfriend's address and told her he considered Islamic State to be the best thing to happen to Islam.

He sent her beheading videos, advising her: 'If you can't make a bomb because family, friends or spies are watching or suspecting you, take a knife, molotov, sound bombs or a car at night and attack the tourists (crusaders), police and soldiers of taghut (enemies of Islam), or western embassies in every country you are in this planet.'

He told the girl he was thinking of conducting a terrorist attack in Queensbury, near his home in north-west London, and had conducted reconnaissance.

Photos from the scene show a lifeless body, thought to be that of Sudesh Amman, face down on the pavement with what have been described as 'silver canisters' strapped to his chest with a large knife is lying beside him

Armed police shot Amman dead after his horrific knife rampage in Streatham this afternoon

Paramedics treat a victim of the horrific Streatham terrorist attack that took place on Sunday

Kelly Brocklehurst, prosecuting, said: 'Much of his fascination with conducting an attack was focused on using a knife but reference was also made to committing acid attacks on mopeds.'

Amman was arrested by armed police in a street in Harrow after posting an image to an encrypted forum of a knife along with two firearms on an Isis flag and the Arabic words: 'Armed and ready, April 3.' The date was said to be a reference to a letter posted to mosques by a Right-wing activist declaring the date 'Punish a Muslim Day'.

When police searched the home where Amman lived with his mother and five younger brothers they found an airgun, a combat knife and a notebook with bomb-making instructions. Police then looked at Amman's computer and realised he had been discussing extreme views on jihad.

File photograph issued by the Metropolitan Police of a BB gun found in the home of Amman, who was sentenced to three years and four months in jail in December 2018 after he pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing terrorist documents

File photograph of a combat knife found in the home of Sudesh Amman, who was jailed for more than three years in 2018

Photographs posted to his family WhatsApp group showed his brothers in their bedroom posing with an Isis flag and BB guns. In a discussion about school with his 15-year-old brother, Amman said he would 'rather blow myself up' and wanted to 'know how to make bombs'.

He expressed the belief that Yazidi women – a group Isis committed genocide against in Iraq – are slaves and therefore the Koran 'makes it permissible to rape them'.

Amman later admitted possessing documents containing terrorist information and seven of disseminating terrorist publications.

Commander Alexis Boon, head of Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command, said Amman had a 'fierce interest in violence and martyrdom'.

A former neighbour, Savita Khimani, 51, said Amman's mother still believed he was wrongly accused even after he was convicted.

Mrs Khimani, whose son Jignesh went to school with the jihadi, said: 'He was a normal boy at school. There were no red flags at all. Sudesh had no social media whatsoever.'

Police will AGAIN feel utterly let down by the judiciary: PHILIP FLOWER says there is a wider problem of maintaining the moral of officers charged with keeping the public safe from these maniacs

Boris Johnson has promised to put an end to soft sentencing and the early release of convicted terrorists – but I fear yesterday's bloody events on the streets of south London show the hollowness of politicians' words over the decades.

At first glance, this looks alarmingly like a repeat of the London Bridge attack last year.

Then, the perpetrator, Usman Khan, 28, had been released halfway through a 16-year sentence. Mr Johnson insisted lessons had been learned, and would be acted upon.

However, the record of recent years speaks differently. Politicians promise to take the fight to the judiciary, but they tend to retire hurt in the face of a confected clamour about human rights.

At first glance, yesterday's bloody events on the streets of south London look alarmingly like a repeat of the London Bridge attack last year, writes PHILIP FLOWER. Pictured: Passers-by tackle the London Bridge killer, who was on a tag

As many as 40 of the 264 fanatics convicted of Islamist-inspired terrorism between 1998 and 2015 had their sentences reduced on appeal.

At least seven have been jailed again since their release or had to return to prison for breaking licence conditions, including some caught spreading hate online or trying to travel to join Islamic State.

After his release, Khan went on to kill two Cambridge graduates last year.

Then, the perpetrator, Usman Khan, 28, (pictured) had been released halfway through a 16-year sentence.

Yesterday's attacker seems also to have been a convicted terrorist who had been released, and was under close surveillance from the plain-clothes armed police who shot him when he launched his deranged assault.

A S a retired senior police officer involved in containing terrorist and other threats during a 40-year career, I want to tell you of the intense frustrations that will be felt today across British policing. They will feel utterly let down by the judicial system.

When I was a constable, I could arrest and process a suspect in an hour, maximum. Today, it takes a day or more.

The police are mired in bureaucracy, while the judicial system has become an institutional cloud-cuckoo land.

As a society, we have to decide how to deal with terrorist suspects. It takes around 32 police officers to maintain around-the-clock surveillance of a single terror suspect.

Then, the perpetrator, Usman Khan, 28, (pictured) had been released halfway through a 16-year sentence

It is insane to attempt to maintain this level of supervision of the thousands of individuals known to be of interest to the security services and counter-terrorism police. It seems as though the Streatham perpetrator was being watched by armed police, yet still he managed to stab shoppers.

I am proud and relieved that we are not a totalitarian society, but at what cost do these liberties come?

If we are to release convicted terrorists from jail early, then we would have to recruit thousands and thousands more police to oversee them, which of course will never happen because there is not enough money and we would find that level of intrusion unacceptable in a free society.

There is a wider problem of maintaining the morale of the officers charged with keeping the public safe from fanatics.

Bluntly, how would you feel if you were told to keep track of known terrorists who have been released from prison to satisfy the politically correct assumptions of our justice system?

I remember a few years ago arriving at work when my junior officers seemed dispirited. I asked them what was wrong.

They explained that the night before they had arrested a robbery suspect. He was 14, a refugee from Somalia, and entirely unconcerned by the consequences of his crime. He said he had grown up with an AK-47 in his hand and was not remotely scared of anything the Metropolitan Police could throw at him.

I worry about this point more than any other. The police of course have to respect the law and the courts, and accommodate individuals from other countries and cultures.

But the police and security services are fighting this domestic and global terrorism threat with one hand behind their backs. Or to put it another way, they are going on to the pitch in their cricket whites while the opposition is firing automatic rifles around their ears. There is another factor here. When I retired from the Metropolitan Police a few years ago, I told the Commissioner that what I feared most in my retirement was the prospect of murderous attacks from lone-wolf terrorists.

With their fake suicide vests, terrorists like the one yesterday in Streatham (pictured) – and Usman Khan on London Bridge – seem to be asking to be shot dead, writes PHILIP FLOWER

Yesterday's attack seems likely to have been at root what we in law enforcement tend to refer to as 'suicide by cop'. With their fake suicide vests, terrorists like the one yesterday in Streatham – and Usman Khan on London Bridge – seem to be asking to be shot dead.

This is a relatively new and difficult policing challenge. In my day, counter-terrorism tended to mean the threat from the IRA, plus some relatively minor aggravation from animal rights extremists.

But those people wanted to fight for their causes, not necessarily die for them as a weird, self-sacrificial, futile gesture. The lone wolf is different. In counter-terrorism, intelligence is always the first line of defence. This could come from informants, colleagues, worried family members, and banks monitoring financial transactions.

The lone wolf generally eschews any of these social interactions, so is much harder to track down. Too often, he (and it's almost always a male) will be a low-achiever whose mental health has been compromised by drug use.

He probably does not have a job, but is paid state benefits that enable him to sit alone at home, endlessly scouring poisonous material on the internet. He probably doesn't have a girlfriend and may well be estranged from his family. He is fundamentally disconnected from society and any social group.

When I talk to former colleagues still serving in the police, they say they worry more about the scores of home-grown would-be mass-murderers sitting in their bedsits scouring the internet than any direct threat from IS forces in Syria or Iraq.

The challenge for us is how to engage with these people and take them out of the grip of their blind hatred. And to ensure that, if we have identified them and found them guilty, they are never released on the streets to maim and kill, as has tragically happened on too many occasions.

Philip Flower is a former chief superintendent with the Metropolitan Police

'I saw this man running towards me... I could hear three or four shots... He fell to the floor': Witnesses tell of horrifying moment suspect was gunned down by police after 'terror attack' stabbing rampage in south London

Shocked witnesses have shared their horror after being caught up in the terror attack in south London this afternoon.

Scotland Yard confirmed at least three people were injured in the attack on High Road in Streatham at around 2pm and have been taken to hospital.

Armed police shot dead the attacker, who appeared to have been wearing a fake suicide vest, after he stabbed three people.

Now, witnesses at the scene have revealed how they saw the shocking rampage unfold.

A woman reacts near to the scene where the knife rampage took place in Streatham, south London this afternoon

The woman and other shocked locals shortly after the terrifying incident took place today

Nardos Mulugeta, 52, a mechanical engineer who lives in Streatham, said he heard gunshots before seeing one victim lying in the street.

He said: 'I heard a shot and then there was a 20-second gap. Then there were three or four shots together.

'I went over and I saw the first victim, a male victim on the ground, near the White Lion Pub, and people were helping him.

'Then five minutes later a woman came over and said I've been stabbed too in the back. And then people starting helping her.

'I saw one body laying down further away. He was face-down between Argos and Iceland. It's really scary.'

David Chawner, who looked after one victim, said: 'I was going to the cinema. I saw what I thought was just a shop lifting.

'I saw someone run down the street, bump into someone and then they fell to the ground, got up again, and then somebody shouted and then I heard what I thought was a car backfiring.

Officers raced to the scene outside a supermarket on High Road in Streatham at around 2pm today following reports of gunfire

Scotland Yard declared the broad daylight carnage as a terror-related incident around an hour after first reports from the scene

Armed police have shot dead a suspected terrorist feared to be wearing a suicide vest after he grabbed a knife from a shop and stabbed a man and a woman during a brutal high-street rampage in south London

'I didn't assume it was a gunshot until I saw what later turned out to be two officers pointing guns at an assailant on the road. It was only then that I saw someone on the other side of the road was down and I went over to him and unfortunately the poor bloke was not lucid.

'And because I was going to the cinema I always carry a blanket with me. It's a stupid thing but I always get really cold in the cinema. So I took that out my bag and gave it to them to compress the wound.

'At this point in time my only concern was the poor person that I had seen on the street who was bleeding out in a pool of their blood.

'Anybody in that situation would see someone in dire need of medical attention your prime objective is to make sure that person is ok.

Photos from the scene show a lifeless body face down on the pavement with what have been described as 'silver canisters' strapped to his chest with a large knife is lying beside him

'I witnessed a lot of blood, a lot of gore but it would be wrong for me to go into more details.'

A 19-year-old student from Streatham, who did not want to be named, said: 'I was crossing the road when I saw a man with a machete and silver canisters on his chest being chased by what I assume was an undercover police officer, as they were in civilian clothing.

'The man was then shot. I think I heard three gun shots but I can't quite remember.

'After that, I ran into the library to get to safety.

'From the library, I saw a load of ambulances and armed police officers arrive on the scene.'

Richard Mustonen-Smith, 59, a response pastor for Ascension Trust, has lived in the area all his life and said: 'I'm shocked it's happened in Streatham. I've been here all my life. We're always getting accidents down here but not this.

'My grandson was in the Odeon and they got told to go out the back because there was a bomb. They got them to go out of the back of the cinema. They were there to watch a film.

'When it's a member of your family so close to you you don't expect it. You're always worried about your family being on the streets but this is even worse.

'I heard two people got stabbed and apparently one man was shouting Allahu Akbar but people thought he was just a crazy man, so he got away. Apparently he had two rucksacks.'

Laura, 31, who was watching a film at the time of the attack, said: 'A police officer in the street said there had been an incident and showed me an alternative route back onto the high street where it was safe.'

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party and councillor for the St Leonard's ward on Lambeth Council, said: 'There's absolute shock and disbelief from residents that are around. There was an immediate sense of panic and fear when it happened.

'My partner was just down at the traffic lights and a woman ran up and said 'there's been a shooting' and another broke down next to her and said she feared for her daughter's life.

'There is that initial sense of fear and worry when this happens. But when you see the emergency services respond, you suddenly feel reassured.

'The police called it a terrorist incident very quickly and very early on.'

'Madam, a terrorist has been shot dead ... they've got a possible IED vest - which is a bomb': How the horror unfolded on quiet Sunday afternoon on leafy suburban London high street

It was around 2pm on an otherwise ordinary Sunday afternoon when the Streatham attacker began his bloody rampage.

In the Life Cafe, diners enjoying lunch were oblivious to the terror until a police officer burst in.

He shouted: 'We've got to evacuate. There's been a terrorist incident... If you want to stay safe, you'll listen to me.'

Witnesses said the terror began when the attacker, later revealed to be 20-year-old Sudesh Amman, walked into the Low Price hardware store before choosing his deadly weapon, said to be a £3.99 kitchen knife

Asked by a waitress if they could have half-an-hour to finish their meals, his response was clear: 'Madam, a terrorist has been shot dead just down there.

'They've got a possible IED vest on them, which is a bomb. If you want to stay open for half-an-hour and you want to put people's lives in danger, be my guest.'

Outside the horror was clear to see.

The terrorist had been shot dead outside a Boots chemists after a team of undercover officers brandishing handguns swooped.

Filmed by a bystander from a passing bus, shocking footage shows the men in jeans, trainers and hoodies pointing their firearms at the attacker's convulsing body.

In the Life Cafe, diners enjoying lunch were oblivious to the terror until a police officer burst in. Asked by a waitress if they could have half-an-hour to finish their meals, his response was clear: 'Madam, a terrorist has been shot dead just down there'

One of the officers kicks away a knife on the pavement before backing off.

A third officer skids on to the scene on a blue motorbike while another ushers onlookers away from the scene shouting: 'Get away.'

As the bus drives on, it passes two victims lying on the pavement.

Two innocent bystanders, a man and a woman, had been stabbed in broad daylight in front of dozens of horrified onlookers on one of south London's busiest shopping streets.

Next to one victim, a pushchair was abandoned on the pavement as members of the public desperately tried to give first aid.

It was around 2pm on an otherwise ordinary Sunday afternoon when the Streatham attacker began his bloody rampage. The Life Cafe is pictured above

A horrified witness is pictured above at the attack scene in Streatham. Witnesses told how the attacker was felled by up to four gun shots which made shoppers flee

Firearms team crashes on the way to the scene: Officers stand by the crumpled wreck of unmarked police BMW after it hit wall in Streatham Common yesterday

Fearing an explosion from the attacker's 'suicide vest', dozens of shoppers had been ordered to take shelter behind the closed shutters of Boots and a WHSmith store.

Families in a nearby Odeon cinema were interrupted mid-way through their films and evacuated by police.

Witnesses said the terror began when the attacker, later revealed to be 20-year-old Sudesh Amman, walked into the Low Price hardware store before choosing his deadly weapon, said to be a £3.99 kitchen knife.

Shopkeeper Jagmon Singh watched Amman, dressed in a grey tracksuit and a black and grey top, pluck the knife off the shelf and unpeel the packaging. Maybe believing him to be a shoplifter, he tried to wrestle it off him.

'The shopkeeper tried to get the knife from him but he got away and stabbed a woman on a bicycle,' said a nurse who saw the horror. 'The knife was really big.'

The female victim, said to be in her 40s, was stabbed along with a man outside the neighbouring White Lion pub.

Witnesses said the terror began when the attacker, later revealed to be 20-year-old Sudesh Amman, walked into the Low Price hardware store before choosing his deadly weapon, said to be a £3.99 kitchen knife

As the attacker lay 'convulsing and twitching' on the floor, officers cautiously approached and kicked his knife away

The terrorist had been shot dead outside a Boots chemists after a team of undercover officers brandishing handguns swooped. The terrorist is pictured wearing a fake suicide vest, left, and brandishing a knife, right

Mechanical engineer Nardos Mulugeta, 52, saw the injured man outside the pub and said police arrived almost immediately.

'I saw a guy lying down in front of the pub with stab wounds across his stomach,' he told the Daily Mail.

'About ten minutes later, a woman came in and said she had also been stabbed. I had ran over because I was smoking further down the road and heard a shot.

'At first I thought it might have been a car backfiring. Then I heard three or four further shots. People were running so I went to investigate. That's when I saw a guy on the floor next to the pub. He had very bad injuries to his stomach.

'He was going pale. People were saying 'Stay with us' and talking to him. Then another woman came and knelt at the Low Price Store.

'She said, 'He stabbed me in the back'. Two people started helping her. A policeman came and asked if any other people had been stabbed.'

Comedian David Chawner, 31, was on his way to the Odeon when he saw two police officers in plain clothes pointing firearms at the attacker outside Boots, around 300ft from the Low Price Store.

Fearing an explosion from the attacker's 'suicide vest', dozens of shoppers had been ordered to take shelter behind the closed shutters of Boots and a WHSmith store. Police are pictured above patrolling near the scene

'I ran to the other side of the road where I saw a white, possibly European victim on the ground, bleeding from the lower abdomen,' he said.

'I tried to compress the bleeding. I ran off as instructed to flag down the ambulance.'

Shockingly, Mr Chawner said it took more than 30 minutes for paramedics to arrive. 'I'm shaking. I'm still in shock,' he added.

Witnesses told how the attacker was felled by up to four gun shots which made shoppers flee.

Daniel Gough said he ran with them, adding: 'There was panic, people were yelling. A young girl running alongside me kept asking 'Is this what I'm meant to do?'

She was very distressed. After a few minutes, I went back and saw a policeman and he yelled, telling everyone to get back.

'His gun was pointing in the direction of a man on the floor. Suddenly, more police appeared. There were [officers] everywhere.'

As the attacker lay 'convulsing and twitching' on the floor, officers cautiously approached and kicked his knife away.

To their horror, they saw a suspected suicide vest strapped to his stomach. Video shows the officers quickly retreating before evacuating nearby buildings.

Richard Mustonen-Smith, 59, a pastor at the Ascension Trust, said: 'My grandson was in the Odeon and they got told to go out the back because there was a bomb.

'When it's your family, you don't expect it. You're always worried about your family being on the streets but this is even worse.'

Witnesses told how the attacker was felled by up to four gun shots which made shoppers flee. Forensic officers are pictured on Streatham High Road last night

Retired accountant John Woods, 64, was in a Wetherspoon's pub when people ran inside following the sound of gunfire.

'I went outside and it was obvious they were undercover police,' he said.

'There were a number of men armed but wearing normal clothes. From when I heard the shots and walked to the door, the police were already there. They must have been following him. There were black cars stopped.'

Dozens of emergency vehicles raced to the area and an air ambulance landed on nearby Tooting Bec Common. Last night forensic officers were combing the scene.

Many residents who had been evacuated were told it would be hours before they could go home.

The London Ambulance Service said the first paramedics arrived at the scene four minutes after being called just before 2pm.