The Henry Jackson Society welcomes yesterday’s conviction in New York of radical cleric Abu Hamza on 11 separate terrorism offences, who now faces a life sentence.
The Henry Jackson Society has been monitoring and examining Abu Hamza’s terrorist connections for years. His connections include convicted terrorists associated with the ‘dirty bomb’ plot, the ‘fertiliser bomb’ plot, aspiring suicide bombers, among others. These connections were definitively charted in HJS’s seminal 2011 study, Islamist Terrorism: The British Connections (2nd Edition) – a study that was used in the British Government’s Counter-terrorism assessment and the most cited study in the Government’s review into the Prevent strategy. The connections were clearly shown in the study on page 513:
Most recently, evidence from The Henry Jackson Society has been used in the Home Affairs Committee Report on Counter-terrorism, citing the Charity Commission’s inadequate capabilities to limit, vet and disqualify charities suspected of associating with terrorism.
Robin Simcox, Research Fellow at The Henry Jackson Society and counter-terror expert, said: “Abu Hamza’s conviction underlines just how committed he was to terrorist causes. He used the Finsbury Park Mosque to run a sophisticated terrorist operation for years, dispatching his supporters to conflict zones around the world.
“Unfortunately, it took too long for the British authorities to realise the great danger he posed.”