He and his deputy, Mizanur Rahman, now face jail sentences

After playing cat and mouse with police for 20 years, he slipped up when he signed oath to ISIS - just after it had been banned under UK law

He was at the centre of an international network of extremists, linked to at least 15 terrorist plots and 300 of his supporters have gone to Syria

He organised 'poppy-burning' rallies and associated with terrorists

After years of preaching radical Islamism, Anjem Choudary, pictured after his arrest, has been found guilty of a terrorism offence

Britain's most notorious hate preacher was in jail last night after two decades of taunting authorities and peddling extremism on the streets of Britain.

For years, Anjem Choudary has been the smug public face of radical Islam, organising street protests against British troops and espousing his poisonous views in TV interviews.

He is believed to have inspired at least 110 Britons into committing terrorist acts.

Police also think he helped encourage up to 850 fanatics to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS.

His now-banned radical group has links to 15 terror plots, including the murder of Lee Rigby and the 7/7 attacks.

The father-of-five and his family also milked hundreds of thousands of pounds from the benefits system.

But he was finally snared by police for inciting support for ISIS in a series of online lectures.

Choudary has repeatedly provoked the British public with a series of stunts in which his followers burned remembrance poppies and disrupted Armistice Day events.

He also called for Buckingham Palace to be turned into a mosque and paraded a picture of his vision which was made by a man now fighting for ISIS.

His group, Al-Muhajiroun, became a breeding ground for terrorists, most notably Michael Adebolajo, the radical convert who hacked to death soldier Lee Rigby in 2013.

After a trial which has been shrouded in secrecy, Choudary and his deputy, Mizanur Rahman, were found guilty of 'inviting support for a proscribed organisation' under the Terrorism Act 2000.

He now faces up to 10 years in prison, although judge Mr Justice Holroyde admitted there is little precedent for sentencing him.

Anti-terror police investigated 20 years worth of material, with over 333 electronic devices containing 12 terabytes of storage data analysed.

Following the lifting of court orders banning reporting of the case, their convictions can be revealed for the first time today.

Their trial heard Choudary swore an oath of allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an East London pub after the so-called 'caliphate' was declared in the Middle East.

He and his deputy then pressed upon Muslims their supposed obligation to 'make hijrah', meaning to travel to ISIS-occupied lands, the court heard.

Choudary paraded this image of Buckingham Palace altered to look like a mosque

Choudary's deputy, fellow hate preacher Mizanur Rahman, 33, has also been convicted

WHY DID THE BBC GIVE HATE PREACHER A PLATFORM? Anjem Choudary was repeatedly gave a platform by the BBC to spread his poisonous ideology. The hate preacher revelled in the media spotlight, bragging 'I have had hundreds of interviews on the BBC, CNN, you name it' and telling supporters the corporation provided a 'fantastic opportunity'. Just days after his followers, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale murdered Fusilier Lee Rigby in May 2013, he was invited onto BBC2's Newsnight where he sparked an outcry after refusing to condemn the murder and describing Adebolajo as a 'man of impeccable character' But he was still invited to appear on Radio 4's Today programme following the pair's conviction when he ranted on for 12 minutes, saying he was 'very proud' of Adebolajo as 'a practising Muslim and a family man'. Appalled, the fiancée of Lee Rigby, Aimee West, 23, said: 'I'm all for free speech, but the BBC is wrong to give such a big platform to hate preachers who are brainwashing young people and inciting such acts of horrific violence.' After a flood of complaints, the watchdog Ofcom cleared the BBC and Choudary was invited back on to the BBC News at Ten while he was on bail last year awaiting trail. A BBC spokesperson said: 'This interview took place 3 years before today's court ruling. It is important to acknowledge that such opinions exist within the UK, throughout the segment Anjem Choudry's views were robustly challenged by our presenter and countered by Lord Carlile, the government’s former anti-terrorism adviser.' Advertisement

In Choudary's incendiary speeches, he told his followers ISIS had met the theological conditions for a legitimate caliphate.

Choudary said: 'We initiate the jihad against the kuffar [disbelievers] to make the name of Allah in the highest. He never considered defending yourself part of jihad. He said you need to send in the army… It is about time we resumed conquering for the sake of Allah.

'Next time when your child is at school and the teacher asks, 'What is your ambition?' They should say, 'to dominate the whole world by Islam, including Britain, that is my ambition''.

At a time when the ISIS executioner Jihadi John was beheading hostages and posting the videos online, Choudary quoted a saying of the Prophet: 'Whoever comes to dispute with him, strike his neck.'

Choudary referred to ISIS propaganda videos, and particularly to cutting off the hands of thieves, stoning adulterers and executing apostates, before adding: 'We can see that in relation to all of the different areas the sharia is being implemented.'

Choudary, who had been optimistic about his chances of being acquitted at his Old Bailey trial, folded his arms and did not react when the jury returned their guilty verdict.

Choudary's conviction comes after a two-year, multi-million pound investigation by Scotland Yard designed to bring to an end his two decades of extremist preaching.

Born in south-east London to a market stall-holder, he used to be a hard drinking student at Southampton University who indulged in casual sex, porn and experimented with LSD and cannabis.

But he joined Al-Muhajiroun after falling under the spell of founder Omar Bakri Mohammed, the notorious preacher who praised the 9/11 attack and hailed the London 7 July bombers the 'Fantastic Four'.

His band of rabble-rousers rose to prominence in 2006 protesting against Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

Choudary's radical group Al-Muhajiroun has long been a breeding ground for terrorists, including Michael Adebolajo (left), who murdered soldier Lee Rigby in 2013

CHOUDARY CALLED FOR BUCKINGHAM PALACE TO BE TURNED INTO A MOSQUE AND MOCKED THE QUEEN Converting Buckingham Palace into a mosque was just one of the provocative ideas dreamed up by Anjem Choudary. The radical preacher suggested that under Sharia Law, Britain's monarchy would be abolished and 'idols' such as Nelson's Column torn down. In one of his speeches, he showed an image of Buckingham Palace with an Islamic dome, explaining that it had been put together by Siddartha Dhar, a British ISIS fighter known as 'Jihadi Sid'. Choudary said: 'This is an image of how Buckingham Palace will look one day, inshallah. I don't know if you can tell the difference between this Buckingham Palace and that one but if you look at the back, I'm sure you will be able to see the minaret and the dome. That's a nice design here by our brother.' Choudary was pictured with the image and one of Nelson's Column at a 2009 event In a video entitled Khalifah Vs The World, Choudary spoke about the bathing habits of the Queen, the court heard. He said: 'I once gave a talk and I said Queen Elizabeth used to have one bath a year. I gave this talk in a church and there was a woman there at the front, an elderly lady, and she kind of shrieked at me. She said: 'that's a lie, she had two baths a year.' 'Two baths a year okay, fair enough, twice as much, still doesn't make it a lot, does it, a year? Doesn't make it that clean.' Giving evidence at the Old Bailey, Choudary clarified that he did not mean the current monarch - he was actually referring to Elizabeth I. Advertisement

HYPOCRITE WHO SPENT LIFE ATTACKING BRITAIN, YET CLAIMED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS IN BENEFITS Hate preacher Choudary spent his life attacking Britian, yet raked in more than £25,000-a-year in benefits. He also received £15,600 a year in housing benefit to keep him in a £320,000 house in Leytonstone, East London. In 2013 he was secretly recorded urging his followers to also sponge off UK taxpayers by claiming their 'Jihadseeker's allowance'. He told a crowd of around 30 fanatics: 'People will say, 'Ah, but you are not working'. But the normal situation is for you to take money from the kuffar (non-Muslim). 'So we take Jihadseeker's Allowance. You need to get support.' He was once asked how he justified living on benefits, to which he replied: 'They give us the money but we attack their system. If I'm given wealth, I will take it.' In another video, he told his disciples it was justifiable to take money from non-believers. He said: 'The normal situation is to take money from the kuffar. You work, give us the money, Allahu Akhbar (God is great).' When challenged on his speech, he said his rant had been 'misconstrued' and his Jihad seeker's Allowance comment had been a mere joke. His spiritual guide Omar Bakri Mohammed also raked in £300 a week in state benefits while he was living the UK. He was also given a £31,000 Ford Galaxy under the Motability scheme. Advertisement

This was followed by protests at parades for soldiers returning from Afghanistan, burning poppies and screaming insults during a two-minute silence on Armistice Day in November 2010.

From Choudary's secret headquarters hidden in the cellar of a sweet shop run by his family in London's East End, he spread his vile ideology to his tens of thousands of followers on Facebook, YouTube, What's App and Twitter.

Research by the Henry Jackson Society thinktank shows that almost one quarter of offenders convicted of Islamist-inspired terrorism-related offences in the UK since 1999 had direct links to Al-Muhajiroun or its many aliases. One in ten had a personal relationship with Choudary.

But, using his legal training as a solicitor and forensic understanding of terrorism legislation, Choudary always managed to dodge prosecution, playing cat and mouse with police and MI5.

Tens of millions of pounds was spent investigating him.

Choudary's seemingly untouchable status sparked rumours that he was deliberately being allowed to go free, so that counter-terrorism investigators could use him as a honeypot to catch supporters.

However, it was shortly after IS was made illegal in June 2014 that Choudary made his crucial mistake.

On July 7 of that year, the preacher and his disciple Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, 33, signed an oath of allegiance to IS which was posted on the internet.

Choudary was arrested two months later but his month-long trial at the Old Bailey has been shrouded in secrecy due to a linked case being held in the same building involving Choudary's associates,

That came to an end yesterday when Mohammed Alamgir, Yousaf Bashir and Rajib Khan were convicted of encouraging support for IS.

Choudary and Rahman will be sentenced on September 6.

The authorities fear he will radicalise a new following behind bars.

Irfan Chishti, imam of Manchester Central Mosque, said: 'British Muslims across the UK welcome this verdict. The community has been unanimous in its rejection of these individuals and everything they stand for.'

Choudary and Rahman were together during a 2014 protest outside the Lebanese embassy

Left: Choudary with a group burning the US flag. Right: Associates of the hate preacher burned poppies on the anniversary of Armistice Day in 2010

Speaking after the verdicts, Commander Dean Haydon, head of SO15, Scotland Yard's Counter-terrorism Command, said Choudary and his followers had been a 'dangerous force for radicalisation and recruitment' both of extremists and terrorists in Britain.

He added: 'These men have stayed just within the law for many years, but there is no one within the counter terrorism world that has any doubts of the influence that they have had, the hate they have spread and the people that they have encouraged to join terrorist organisations.

'Over and over again we have seen people on trial for the most serious offences who have attended lectures or speeches given by these men.

'The oath of allegiance was a turning point for the police - at last we had the evidence that they had stepped over the line and we could prove they supported ISIS.'

Nick Lowles, chief executive of the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate, said Choudary had influenced over 100 Britons who have carried out, or attempted to carry out, terrorist attacks at home and abroad.

'Justice has been a long time coming,' he said. 'For far too long, Anjem Choudary has played a key role as a cheerleader for ISIS, and been allowed to demonise the Muslim community.

'He clearly promoted the disgusting and divisive ideals of the Islamic State, while dozens of his supporters have been connected to terrorist plots, violence or heading overseas to fight in Syria, Iraq and other conflicts. Finally Choudary can now pay for his actions.'

AFTER YEARS TIPTOEING AROUND THE LAW, CHOUDARY SLIPPED UP WHEN HE SIGNED OATH TO ISIS IN AN EAST LONDON RESTAURANT After playing cat and mouse with police for 20 years, Choudary slipped up when he signed an oath to ISIS - just weeks after it had been banned under UK law. On June 10 2014, his deputy Rahman wrote on Facebook: 'It is time for the Western world to recognise ISIS as a state and agree terms of withdrawal of Western forces from their land.' When media reports began to circulate that ISIS was due to be proscribed by the government (it was banned on June 16), Rahman boasted: 'There is always cat and mouse going on with the media and the police. We know the law very well and know how to speak the truth while staying on the safe side of the line.' Prosecutors said Choudary made a oath of allegiance to the leader of ISIS in this east London restaurant, which has since closed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared he had re-established the ancient Islamic Caliphate on June 29, causing an instant outpouring of emotion from Choudary's followers. Associate Siddhartha Dhar - now an ISIS fighter dubbed 'Jihadi Sid' - pushed Choudary for a response, messaging him: 'Sheikh, ur words would be gold on Twitter. A lot of Muslims saying all sorts.' Choudary's wife, Rubana Akhtar, also messaged him, saying: 'It's haram [forbidden] to spend more than three nights without giving bayah [swearing allegiance] once it has been announced.' Investigators discovered Choudary had sworn an oath of allegiance to the leader of ISIS on July 2 2014, after a meeting at the Hayfield Masala restaurant in east London. His group Skyped fellow radical Mohammed Fachry in Indonesia, who produced the first draft of an 'Oath of Allegiance' document in the name of al-Muhajiroun, the banned group to which Choudary and his followers owed their loyalty. ISIS associate Mohammed Fachry (pictured at his trial in Jakarta, Indonesia) produced the first draft of an Oath of Allegiance document in the name of al-Muhajiroun, the banned group which Choudary and his followers were part After several revisions, it was finally published five days later, and was headed: 'Support by the Muhajiroun to pledge allegiance for the Caliphate state in the name of Allah most merciful most gracious.' The investigation involved a trawl of more than 300 electronic devises belonging to Choudary and his circle. In court, Choudary denied wiping incriminating material from his computer using a programme called CCleaner and said the computers were always running slowly. 'I'm plagued by computers that always slow down. I don't know what the kids do, there are always lots of pop-ups and viruses,' he said. Commander Dean Haydon, head of Scotland Yard's counter terrorism command, said: 'These men have stayed just within the law for many years, but there is no one within the counter terrorism world that has any doubts of the influence that they have had, the hate they have spread and the people that they have encouraged to join terrorist organisations. 'Over and over again we have seen people on trial for the most serious offences who have attended lectures or speeches given by these men. 'The oath of allegiance was a turning point for the police - at last we had the evidence that they had stepped over the line and we could prove they supported ISIS.' He added: 'From out point of view we wouldn't call it a mistake, for our purposes for an investigation and evidence point of view that was the key piece of evidence that kind of took it over a line for a terrorist offence.' Choudary uploaded clips of himself and co-conspirator Mizanur Rahman, 33, giving speeches urging support for ISIS in August and September 2014. This is the moment Anjem Choudary and his deputy Mizanur Rahman was pictured at a demonstration outside the Lebanese embassy in central London in April 2014 Commander Haydon, asked whether Choudary had been too clever for the authorities by avoiding prosecution until now. Commander Haydon said: 'Yes, part of his evidence in his trial he has made it quite clear that he has operated 'within the law', in his eyes. He is a very clever individual.' Police suspected he was pushing the boundaries too far when his band of followers arrived at a demonstration outside the Lebanese embassy in central London in April 2014. Some of the crowd were holding poorly-spelled placards which had the phrase: 'Islamic State Is Solution' at the bottom, with the first letter of each word in bold to spell ISIS They were holding placards which included the words 'Islamic State is Solution' with the first letter of each word underlined to spell out ISIS. The investigating officers defended the failure to prosecute Choudary earlier. He said: 'If we had evidence we could use and present to the CPS in a court of law here, then we would have done. 'Not to say it's taken 20 years, but evidence came to light more recently of postings online that met the terrorist threshold, and that's why we arrested when we did.' Anjem Choudary and another hate preacher, Abu Izzadeen, with supporters in Indonesia in 2013, where an oath of allegiance was published the following year Advertisement

Web of hate: How Anjem Choudary's sermons inspired a generation of home-grown terrorists and radicals

The hate-filled circle around Anjem Choudary has been a breeding ground for the Islamic extremism which has plagued Britain in the last two decades.

Former law-student Choudary, who previously called for adulterers to be stoned to death and branded UK troops 'cowards', has always hidden behind free speech rules whenever challenged by the authorities.

But the group he helped to set up have been linked to a series of terrorist attacks, as easily-influenced young men became inspired by his twisted vision of jihad.

Anjem Choudary, 49, has been at the centre of radical Islamic organisations for many years

Choudary's radical sermons have become a magnet for easily-influenced young men

The best known of his disciples was Muslim convert Michael Adebolajo, who, along with Michael Adebowale, attacked Fusilier Lee Rigby with a meat cleaver in Woolwich in 2013 in a murder which shocked the country.

Adebolajo was a supporter of Choudary's al-Muhajiroun group and was pictured standing behind the hate preacher in 2007.

After the incident, Choudary said Adebolajo was 'a practising Muslim and a family man' who he was 'proud of'.

But he denied encouraging the killer to carry out the attack, insisting he was 'channeling the energy of the youth through demonstrations and processions'.

Choudary's own conversion to fundamentalist Islam is thought to have happened around the time he left university.

The son of a Pakistani market trader from Welling, south east London, Choudary studied law at Southampton University after dropping out of a medical course.

Fellow students recalled him drinking cider, enjoying casual sex, smoking cannabis and even taking LSD, despite insisting he was a Muslim.

The only sign of activism came in his upset over Salman Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims believed to be blasphemous.

Choudary developed his views under the influence of hate preacher Omar Bakri Mohammed

But after moving back to London when his studies ended, Choudary met Islamist firebrand Omar Bakri Muhammad at a mosque in Woolwich and quickly fell under his spell.

Bakri, a Syrian who came to Britain in the 1980s, had set up a sharia court in the UK and Choudary became his 'naqib' or assistant.

Bakri, who celebrated the 9/11 attacks as a 'Towering Day in History', formed the group al-Muhajiroun, meaning 'the foreigners', in the 1990s and Choudary was soon a key lieutenant.

The government repeatedly tried to ban the organisation, leading them to adopt a number of different names, including Al Ghurabaa, Islam4UK, Muslims Against Crusades, Need4Khilafah and the Shariah Project. There are still however referred to by their original name.

In a rhetorical trick later copied by Choudary, Bakri insisted a 'covenant of security' existed which meant Muslims should not attack the UK if authorities did not restrict their freedom to practice their religion.

But, in 2004, a group of followers was arrested in Crawley, West Sussex, and accused of planning a massive bomb attack in central London.

Choudary is known to have associated with Michael Adebolajo (left), the killer of Lee Rigby

Choudary's group regularly changed its name to avoid police action. Pictured: He and his followers with a banner proclaiming one of the names, 'Shariah for the UK'

In the wake of the 7/7 bombings in London, whose perpetrators Bakri hailed as 'the fantastic four', Bakri left for Lebanon and the British government quickly moved to prevent him coming back.

In his absence, Choudary became his heir apparent and set about organising a number of stunts seemingly designed to cause maximum offence to the British public and gain media attention.

A 40-strong group burned a giant poppy and screamed insults during a two minute silence near the Royal Albert Hall on Armistice Day in November 2010.

Members of the group were seen holding placards reading 'British soldiers burn in hell' and 'Afghanistan: The graveyard of empires'.

VILE PREACHER'S MOST OFFENSIVE COMMENTS On the Lee Rigby killer Michael Adebolajo - 'He is a practising Muslim, a family man and I'm very proud of him' On September 11 and 7/7 attacks - 'I didn't condone the September 11 and July 7 bombings, what I did is say that they had juristic justification. There are people that justify [them] on the divine text.' On the Charlie Hebdo shootings - 'I think that this magazine went out of their way to insult the Prophet and they put their very nasty cartoons on their front pages in the past. It obviously angers many Muslims. 'I think it's completely ridiculous, the idea that I should say I don't condone the attack.' On his plans to see Buckingham Palace made into a mosque: 'This is an image of how Buckingham Palace will look one day, inshallah.' He also called Mr Cameron, Mr Obama and the leaders of Pakistan and Egypt the 'shaitan', or devil, and said he wanted them to be killed. On his plans for Britain - 'We initiate the jihad against the kuffar [disbelievers] to make the name of Allah in the highest. 'Next time when your child is at school and the teacher asks, 'What is your ambition?', they should say, 'To dominate the whole world by Islam, including Britain, that is my ambition''. When ISIS executioner Jihadi John was beheading hostages and posting the videos online, Choudary quoted a saying of the Prophet - 'Whoever comes to dispute with him, strike his neck.' On the monarchy - 'I once gave a talk and I said Queen Elizabeth used to have one bath a year. I gave this talk in a church and there was a woman there at the front, an elderly lady, and she kind of shrieked at me. She said: 'that's a lie, she had two baths a year.' 'Two baths a year okay, fair enough, twice as much, still doesn't make it a lot, does it, a year? Doesn't make it that clean.' The night before his conviction, Choudary told Sky News he was merely exercising his right to freedom of speech: 'If you cannot say when you believe in something and you cannot share that view, then you don't really have freedom to express yourself in this country.' Choudary described ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as 'the Caliph of all Muslims and the Prince of the Believers,' adding: 'I think in many respects it's the kind of society I'd love to live in with my family.' Advertisement

They re-recreated a picture of Buckingham Palace as a mosque and threatened to protest as the bodies of servicemen were repatriated from Afghanistan to Wootton Bassett, where local people had taken to lining the street as a mark of respect.

Choudary was also recorded telling his followers to claim benefits, which he dubbed the 'jihad seeker's allowance'.

But amid Choudary obvious attempts to inflame public opinion, followers of Muhajiroun were caught plotting far more sinister acts.

In December 2012, three young converts began a vigilante group called 'Muslim Patrol' and roamed east London at night threatening, intimidating and even assaulting members of the public who they perceived to be behaving in an un-Islamic manner.

Three Muhajiroun followers also firebombed the home of the publisher of a controversial novel about the Prophet Mohammed in September 2008.

Choudary's associates frequently end up in Syria, Siddhartha Dhar (pictured, left, at a protest in 2010) was photographed clutching a gun in the war-torn country in 2014

Mohammed Reza Haque (left), formerly Chourdary's bodyguard, is believed to be this man (right ) who has since appeared in ISIS execution videos

Four Muhajiroun supporters from London and Cardiff, led by Mohammed Chowdhury, began planning a Christmas car bomb attack on the London Stock Exchange in 2010.

The Syrian civil war, which provided a vacuum into which ISIS moved, further stoked up radicalism among the group.

Mohammed Reza Haque, thought of as Choudary's bodyguard, disappeared from Britain in 2014.

A photograph taken in Syria showed him in a balaclava and camouflage clothing, brandishing an AK-47 assault rifle and he has since been suspected as being a tall figure in ISIS's horrific execution films.

Siddhartha Dhar, who once ran Choudary's media operation, was also seen posing in a military style coat and boots, brandishing an assault rifle and holding his new born baby in Syria, labelling the picture 'Generation Khilafah'.

In December 2014, two other close associates were discovered in the back of a lorry at Dover as they tried to leave the country.

Choudary tweeted a photo with Abu Izzadeen, a hate preacher later caught in Hungary

Simon Keeler and Anthony Small - a former British boxing champion – were later cleared of attempting to travel to Syria by a jury after they gave a variety of reasons for their need to leave the country without their passports.

After Choudary's high-profile calls for law and an Islamic Britain, it has been the rise of ISIS which has led to his undoing.

In October 2014, Choudary said in an interview that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was 'the Caliph of all Muslims and the Prince of the Believers.'

He was arrested two weeks later along with eight members of his inner circle and now faces jail for inviting support for the terror group.

From the man who inspired him to the killers who listened to his sermons: Who's who in Choudary's radical circle?

OMAR BAKRI MOHAMMED For years, one of the most high profile hate preachers in the UK, Syrian-born Bakri was the inspiration for Choudary and his generation of radicals. He became known for his controversial pronouncements, described the 9/11 hijackers as the 'Magnificent 19' and the London 7/7 bombers as the 'fantastic four'. Bakri set up al-Muhajiroun in the UK but left the UK for Lebanon in 2005 and was barred from returning by the Home Office. Advertisement

MIZANUR RAHMAN Choudary's younger sidekick Rahman was born in Britain to parents from Bangladesh and has lived in London all his life. Like Choudary, he was inspired by Omar Bakri Mohammed, who he saw speaking at Turnpike Lane Mosque, near his home in Palmer's Green, north London. He learned Arabic while in prison after he was jailed for six years for inciting murder during protests against Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in central London in 2006 but was released three years later. Advertisement





ABU IZZADEEN / TREVOR BROOKS Izzadeen, whose original name is Trevor Brooks, had preached alongside Choudary on the streets of London and the pair were regularly pictured together on Choudary's Twitter feed. Izzadeen was jailed in 2008 for fundraising for and inciting terrorism and decade-long travel restrictions were placed upon them for after they were released. But he and another radical were caught in Hungary last year after stowing away in a lorry and travelling towards the Middle East after they he was freed. He was jailed for another two years. Advertisement

MICHEAL ADEBOLAJO Lee Rigby's killer came from a Nigerian Christian family in Romford, Essex, but became radicalised at university and fell in Choudary's group. He was jailed for assaulting a police officer at a protest outside the Old Bailey in 2006, which was held in support of 2006 he joined a solidarity protest at the Old Bailey for Mizanur Rahman, the man convicted alongside Choudary. Adebolajo and his accomplice, Michael Adebowale, carried out the horrific murder of Lee Rigby in 2013. The pair hoped to be killed by police and become 'martyrs'. They were caught alive and jailed. Advertisement

SIDDARTHA DHAR Siddartha Dhar was photographed at Choudary's rallies and is said to have worked on communications for Choudary's group. The father-of-four, who was born into a Hindu family, was arrested in 2014 for extremism offences and is thought to have fled to Syria soon after. Now dubbed 'Jihadi Sid', he is thought to be the executioner in a video released by ISIS showing five men being killed. Advertisement

MOHAMMED REZA HAQUE Haque, nicknamed 'the giant', worked as Choudary's bodyguard and was regular seen protecting the radical preacher at rallies. He was pictured at a rally brandishing the black IS flag alongside others who held banners declaring: 'British soldiers burn in Hell.' Haque is understood to have fled to Syria in 2014 and was later believed to be a tall man alongside 'Jihadi Sid' in an ISIS execution film. Advertisement





SIMON KEELER Keeler, born in Surrey, was convicted in 2008 of inciting terrorism and trying to fund wars overseas. In 2014, he was discovered in a lorry travelling through Dover and the following year he was caught in Hungary. He was deported back to Britain and jailed earlier this year for breaching a travel order imposed following his previous case. Advertisement

ANTHONY SMALL Former boxer Small once held British and Commonwealth light middleweight titles. But he converted to Islam aged 24 and later praised Anjem Choudary and was pictured ripping up poppies. He was cleared of plotting to join ISIS after he was arrested with Keeler in the back of a lorry at Dover. He was later found guilty of fraud over giving false names to the DVLA. Advertisement

Swigging beer, smoking cannabis and leering at soft porn: 'Andy' the ladies' man student pictured before he became a terror firebrand

Swigging pints of beer and grinning as a friend holds up a soft porn magazine, this was hate preacher Anjem Choudary when he was known as 'Andy', the ladies' man law student.

Before Choudary grew his trademark beard and embraced fundamentalism, he was a typical laddish student, who had a string of white girlfriends and could down a pint of cider in just a few seconds.

Choudary, now 49, the son of a market trader from Welling, South East London, had initially studied medicine at St Bartholomew's medical school in central London.

Swigging pints of beer and grinning as a friend holds up a soft porn mag, this was hate preacher Anjem Choudary when he was known as 'Andy', the ladies man law student

At the end of his first year, he switched to studying law at Southampton University, saying he was 'disillusioned' with medicine.

And he appeared to be very much one of the student crowd, calling himself 'Andy,' drinking, indulging in casual sex, smoking cannabis and even taking LSD.

One former acquaintance said: 'At parties, like the rest of us, he was rarely without a joint. The morning after one party, I can remember him getting all the roaches [butts] from the spliffs we had smoked the night before out of the ashtrays, cutting them up and making a new one out of the leftovers.

'He would say he was a Muslim and was proud of his Pakistani heritage, but he didn't seem to attend any of the mosques in Southampton, and I only knew of him having white girlfriends. He certainly shared a bed with them.'

The only sign of activism from Choudary came in his upset over Salman Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses, which was said to be blasphemous and led to protests in Bradford and a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death from the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran in 1989.

'You didn't want to get him started on that. He would go on and on about the fatwa and he supported calls for the book to be banned. But he would have a glass of cider in his hand when he was carrying on about it,' the friend said.

Friends said he would talk about a fatwa calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie, while drinking a pint of cider

After university, Choudary studied for the legal practice exams at Guildford School of Law in Surrey between 1990 and 1991.

He got a job teaching English as a foreign language in one of the many colleges off Oxford Street before setting up on his own as a lawyer.

Pictures taken during his student days show the cleric drinking lager and cider, playing drinking games, and holding what looks like a cannabis joint between his lips.

He is also seen grinning, while a friend holds up a copy of the Mayfair pornographic magazine.

Speaking in 2010 when the photographs first emerged, another former friend had told The Daily Mail: 'I can't keep a straight face when I see 'fundamentalist Muslim Anjem Choudary' in the papers attacking the British for drinking or having girlfriends.

It was after Choudary (pictured in July 2013) qualified as a solicitor, that he swiftly moved into ever more radical Islam

'When I knew him, he liked to be called Andy, would often smoke cannabis spliffs all day, and was proud of his ability to down a pint of cider in a couple of seconds.

'And he was ruthless with girls. When he briefly worked as an English teacher for foreign students in London, he'd pull one of them every few days, sleep with her, then move on to another.

'If Sharia law was introduced, he would have been whipped and stoned to death many times over.'

It was after Choudary qualified as a solicitor, that he swiftly moved into ever more radical Islam, with former acquaintances suggesting this was possibly because he was angered by his failure to land a well-paid job with a big City law firm.

He had met Omar Bakri Muhammad at a mosque in Woolwich, south east London, and quickly fell under his spell.

He also mixed with hook-handed demagogue Abu Hamza, who once called for bomb attacks on British civilian aircraft at a meeting chaired by Choudary.

'If British means adopting British values, then I don't think we can adopt British values. I'm a Muslim living in Britain. I have a British passport, but that's a travel document to me,' he said later.

'I had become much more religiously active,' Choudary explained.