We're looking again at hundreds of extremists, reveals Justice Secretary

2 December 2019, 08:36 | Updated: 2 December 2019, 08:40

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told LBC his department is taking a look at a "few hundred" people known to hold extremist views in the aftermath of the London Bridge terror attack.

The terrorist responsible for the deaths of two people on Friday had been released on licence, having previously been convicted of planning an attack at the London Stock Exchange.

One man in Stoke-on-Trent was arrested this weekend as the government responded to the attack in central London and Mr Buckland told Nick Ferrari they are looking at more released terror offenders.

He said: "It's the first duty of the government to replace the public. And that's why over this weekend, my officials have been working around the clock in order to make sure that those people who have been released that are on a range of licence conditions are appropriate and are being applied."

There are 74 terror offenders who have been released early and Mr Buckland insisted the government know where all of them are and are supervising them.

He added: "If there is any doubt or issue that they are complying with licence conditions, then we can recall them to prison immediately.

"It's already been reported that one such person has been recalled. I'll be meeting my officials this morning to go through the list again.

"But also to look at a wider list of a few hundred people who might not have committed terror offences, but are known to have extremist views.

"I want to make sure that we cover this thoroughly and we also look ahead to people who might be released from custody in the next few weeks."