Reviled hate preacher was finally jailed last year after swearing an oath to ISIS

But he claimed their trial was unfair because of the judge's summing up

An appeal judge has thrown out his claims today, saying they are groundless

Choudary could still be free as soon as next year, after serving half of his term

Anjem Choudary has been denied an appeal against his convictions after a judge rejected claims his trial was unfair

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary has been denied permission to appeal against his conviction for being a recruiting for ISIS.

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The 50-year-old cleric and his disciple Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, 34, were each jailed for five-and-a-half years after signing an oath of allegiance to the terror group.

The pair, whose followers had attempted and carried out numerous terror attacks, spread their militant brand of Islam through lectures on YouTube.

Choudary managed to evade justice for 20 years before he and Rahman were convicted of inviting support for a proscribed terrorist organisation at the Old Bailey and jailed in September last year.

The pair applied for permission to appeal their convictions, arguing that the trial judge, Mr Justice Timothy Holroyde, had misdirected the jury during his summing up.

They claimed that jurors wrongly thought they could convict them for inviting support for ISIS during speeches which weren't on the indictment.

Rabble-rouser Choudary and his lieutenant Mizanur Rahman were jailed for inviting support for ISIS after a long police campaign to get them off the streets

Rabble-rouser Choudary and his lieutenant Mizanur Rahman (pictured) were jailed for inviting support for ISIS after a long police campaign to get them off the streets

Today, a panel of judges led by Lady Justice Victoria Sharp denied them an appeal, saying the summing up at their trial had 'contained correct directions of the law' and was 'a fair and accurate summary of the case'.

Lady Justice Sharp pointed out that neither defendant nor any member of the 'highly experienced' legal teams raised the point during the trial.

Lady Sharp ruled that neither Choudary or Rahman 'has an arguable ground of appeal' and ruled that their convictions 'are not arguably unsafe'.

Many of Choudary's followers, who included Lee Rigby's killer Michael Adebolajo and suspected ISIS executioner Siddhartha Dhar, are in either in jail or fighting for jihadist groups abroad.

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Police do not know exactly how many of the 850 Britons who have gone to Syria were directly influenced by the firebrand cleric but detectives said he was a 'key' figure in Isis's radicalisation and recruitment drive.

But he could be back on Britain's streets as soon as next year, as he will be entitled to automatic release after serving just half of his five and a half year jail term.

Choudary took great joy in provoking the British public with a series of stunts, including one 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 who later fought for ISIS.

Choudary spent years organising radical sermons and holding provocative stunts. He is pictured with a poster of Buckingham Palace made into a mosque

His now-banned 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.

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

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

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.