Security experts slam 'incompetency and oversight' as jury find Streatham terror attack COULD have been prevented if terrorist Sudesh Amman had been recalled to prison after police SAW him buy kit for his poundshop fake suicide belt before stabbing spree

Missed chances to avoid atrocities: How security and probation services have failed to prevent terror attacks

MANCHESTER ARENA (MAY 2017)

Salman Abedi, and his younger brother Hashem, took months to cultivate and stockpile explosives and shrapnel at a variety of Manchester addresses, eventually using them in a heavy backpack bomb he detonated outside an Arianna Grande concert, killing 22 and injuring hundreds more on May 22, 2017.

A public inquiry into the attack heavily criticised 'serious shortcomings in the security' by venue operators, security staff and police on the night of the bombing, saying this helped Abedi carry out his 'evil intentions.' The inquiry chairman recounted missed opportunities to stop Abedi and said authorities showed a reluctance to believe an attack could happen.

One man waiting to pick up his partner's daughter had even raised concerns with a steward when he saw Abedi loitering in a CCTV blind spot on a mezzanine above the arena foyer with a large knapsack, but was 'fobbed off.'

The inquiry also heard two officers on duty took a two-hour break to go for a kebab; emergency services could not get through to the phone line of Greater Manchester Police's initial commander; and only three paramedics entered the City Room foyer, while the fire service got there more than two hours later.

WESTMINSTER BRIDGE (MARCH 2017)

Khalid Masood drove into people on Westminster Bridge, killing four, before stabbing policeman PC Keith Palmer at the Palace of Westminster in March 2017.

Pc Palmer's widow Michelle Palmer said he was left 'in a vulnerable location, with no protection, to die', and the coroner said the officer's death could 'possibly' have been prevented if armed officers were nearby.

Senior officers said the two officers on patrol had not checked during updated guidance, but an inquest was also told that other armed officers were unaware - and patrol practices were not correctly monitored.

FISHMONGERS' HALL (NOVEMBER 2019)

Convicted terrorist Usman Khan was killed on London Bridge by armed police after stabbing Cambridge university graduates Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25, while wearing a fake suicide belt in November 2019.

An inquest jury later found failures by the Probation Service, police and MI5 contributed to their deaths, with Khan allowed to travel to a prisoner rehabilitation event alone despite being released from jail 11 months earlier.

Jurors said there had been 'unacceptable management and lack of accountability' and 'serious deficiencies' under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements , which are used by police, probation and prison services to work together.

The jury also concluded that police, probation officers and the securtiy servies spies managing Khan had experienced a 'blind spot' relating to the risk he posed.

LONDON BRIDGE (JUNE 2017)

Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, were all killed after ploughing into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in Borough Market.

Eight people were killed in the attack in June 2017, and Butt had been investigated by MI5 since 2015 over concerns he wanted to carry out an attack.

Families of the victims criticised the authorities for failing to prevent the atrocity despite having its ringleader under investigation, but a coroner said he was 'not persuaded' that MI5 and police missed clues that could have helped to stop it.

Security experts today criticised 'incompetency' and 'oversight' after a jury found the Streatham terror attack could have been prevented if convicted terrorist Sudesh Amman had been recalled to prison after police spotted him buying items used in his fake suicide belt.

In what was the latest in a line of terror disasters for Britain's security and probation services, 20-year-old Amman was shot dead by armed undercover officers after he stole a knife from a hardware shop and began randomly stabbing members of the public on Streatham High Road in South London.

The jury at the Royal Courts of Justice inquest into his death also concluded that Amman had been lawfully killed when he was shot on February 2 last year. He had been released from HMP Belmarsh ten days earlier after serving half of a 40-month sentence for obtaining and distributing material for terrorist purposes.

Police and MI5 officers were so concerned about him two days before his attack - after watching him buy materials it was rightly feared could be used to make a hoax suicide belt - that they had an emergency meeting to discuss arresting the recently released terrorist.

But HM Prison and Probation Service decided not to recall him to jail, despite undercover officers spotting him buy four small bottles of Irn-Bru, kitchen foil and parcel tape from Poundland. Amman was kept under round-the-clock armed surveillance instead.

Asked today about the mistakes leading to the attack, Dr Joseph Downing, a fellow in nationalism at the London School of Economics who studies security and terrorism, told MailOnline: 'That's clearly incompetence. The problem is when something like this happens is that the person may do stuff in the preparation for an attack but it may be mundane.

'When it's something like buying equipment for a bomb then clearly there has been an oversight. Because this is something being dealt with between numerous agencies who work to different verdicts of truth, different expertise, it can happen. Like the probation services clearly doesn't have expertise in counter-terrorism and that's one of the problems. Working among different agencies is often the problem.

'That's the problem with the checks and balances according to the law. Even if the security services do say they're identified the problem they can be overruled by other actors and that's one of the main issues we have today.'

The incident followed the Manchester Arena bombing and the Westminster Bridge attack in 2017, and the Fishmongers' Hall stabbings in November 2019 - all of which also saw killers Salman Abedi, Usman Khan and Khalid Masood spend time planning their atrocities.

Security expert Anthony Glees, emeritus professor at the University of Buckingham, told MailOnline today: 'I think the verdict is a devastating blow to the UK's security community - MI5, counter-terror police and the Probation Service - but it will also probably cause very serious disquiet amongst the public who will be feeling very angry now.

'First and foremost towards Sudesh Amman. I know he's dead, but it's the latest in a depressingly long line of Islamist terrorists who've murdered and maimed people in the UK for far too long now. But also anger towards the security services who have a duty to keep us safe.

'This is now the third time that a jury has found they failed to do their duty, and the security services will always say that a small proportion of terrorists will always get through, and we don't live in a police state, we have to accept this risk.

'But the problem about arguing this is time and time again we see the same errors made again, described as a 'blind spot' to risk. We're not talking about cleanskins, acts of God we couldn't possibly know about. We're talking about people who the security services and Probation Service knew, and that's what's so horrifying in all these cases.

The senior investigating officer on the Amman case denied suggestions from the terrorist's family that police should have intervened and that the undercover operation was a 'massive failure'. The officer said instead that the Metropolitan Police's actions on the day he struck prevented further tragedy.

But London Mayor Sadiq Khan said today: 'It is clear from the findings of the inquest that serious lessons must be learned.'

And Mr Glees continued: 'What do we need to do now? The first thing is that no file ever opened on a terrorist will ever close. They must expect very long jail sentences if found guilty of terrorist offences, and we know that the Director of Public Prosecutions (Max Hill) called for much stronger sentences for any indication of terrorist activity.

'No longer can the benefit of the doubt be given to any terrorist or terrorist subject. And particularly in respect of what is now going on in Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover will doubtless inspire the next generation of Islamist terrorists, it's got to be made clear that anybody who leaves the UK to fight for Islamism will never come back. They must expect that their British passport will be thrown away if they travel.'

Coventry-born Amman, of Queensbury, North London, had been living at a probation hostel in Streatham for ten days when he stabbed a woman - named in reports at the time as nursery school teacher Monika Luftner, 52 - in the back, before knifing a male passer-by in the torso, before turning to charge at two armed police officers who gave chase.

The male victim and the police officers who eventually opened fire on Amman both described fearing they would die during the 62-second rampage.

The inquest jury returned a conclusion of lawful killing this morning, after retiring for 11 hours to consider their finding, but said probation 'missed an opportunity' to send him back to prison following the Poundland trip.

Jurors concluded the decision not to search Amman's probation hostel, or search him in person on the day of the attack, did not amount to a missed opportunity.

The coroner Mr Justice Hilliard, at the inquest's conclusion, said: 'Amman was prepared to risk his life... In stark contrast the Metropolitan Police surveillance teams were prepared to put themselves in harm's way. They are all to be commended for their bravery, and they are owed a considerable debt of gratitude for their bravery.'

Sudesh Amman, 20, was shot dead by armed undercover officers during the incident in Streatham, South London, last year

Body worn camera footage issued by the Metropolitan Police showing armed officers approaching the prone body of Amman

Mobile phone footage issued by the Metropolitan Police today of armed officers approaching Amman as he lays prone

The four questions jurors had to answer in the Sudesh Amman inquest

Q1: 'Are you satisfied that, on the balance of probabilities, Sudesh Amman was lawfully killed?'

A: YES

Q2: 'Did HM Prison and Probation Service miss an opportunity which may have prevented the attack and the consequent death of Sudesh Amman, in not deciding to recall him to prison after being notified on 31 January 2020 of the purchases he had made on that date?'

A: YES

Q3: 'Did the police investigation team miss an opportunity which may have prevented the attack and the consequent death of Sudesh Amman, in not asking the National Probation Service to organise a search of Mr Amman's room by staff at the approved premises between the time of his purchases on 31 January 2020 and the time he left the approved premises at 1.22pm on 2 February 2020?'

A: NO

Q4: 'Did the Metropolitan Police Service miss an opportunity which may have prevented the attack and the consequent death of Sudesh Amman, in not taking steps to have Mr Amman stopped and searched on 2 February 2020, between him leaving the approved premises (at 1.22pm) and the attack beginning (at 1.57pm)?'

A: NO

The inquest, held over three weeks in London, heard Amman was considered 'one of the most dangerous individuals' investigated by police and MI5, and heard evidence he maintained an extremist mindset throughout his time in prison.

He was said to have plotted to kill the Queen, pledged allegiance to so-called Islamic State, and wanted to commit atrocities.

While in prison, Amman was also said to have revelled in his perceived notoriety as a young terrorist, and was said to have mixed with other high-profile offenders including the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi.

He was automatically released from Belmarsh jail on January 23, halfway through his 40-month sentence for obtaining and distributing material used for terrorist purposes, despite pleas to the prison governor to keep him in custody for longer after a police officer feared an attack would be 'when, not if'.

The case resulted in a new law removing the automatic release of terror offenders on determinate sentences, meaning they now routinely serve two-thirds of their sentence before their custody status is decided by a Parole Board.

The inquest jury heard Amman was shot at six times, with between three and four bullets hitting him.

He suffered wounds in the neck and abdomen, and was pronounced dead at 3.24pm once the scene had been made safe.

There was 'no indication' of any involvement from third parties, nor that he had breached any of his licence conditions prior to the attack.

Police defended the decision not to raid Amman's hostel room following the Poundland haul, stating there was an insufficient time window in which to conduct such an operation.

Carina Heckroodt, head of the London Extremism Gangs and Organised Crime Unit at the Probation Service, denied it was a 'missed opportunity' not to recall Amman to prison on January 31 after he was spotted buying items later used to fashion a fake suicide belt.

But in their conclusion, the jury said: 'Whilst the jury does acknowledge that several other avenues were explored in order to recall, there was a missed opportunity.'

A previously-unissued screengrab from CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police of armed officers approaching Amman

Undated handout file photos taken from a classified police intelligence report into Amman when he was under surveillance

Packaging from the knife that Amman stole from the Low Price Store on Streatham High Road, before stabbing passers by

Sudesh Amman's bedroom in his approved premises, the probation hostel in Streatham, south London

Sudesh Amman's probation hostel in Streatham, south London, where he lived for ten days following his release from prison

Undated Metropolitan Police handout file CCTV image of Sudesh Amman at the till in Poundland in Streatham on January 31 2020 where he bought items including four bottles of Irn Bru and kitchen foil, two days before his attack on Streatham

CCTV footage issued by the Metropolitan Police of the bomb vest worn by Sudesh Amman lying on the ground in Streatham

A Metropolitan Police photo of the mobile phone used by Sudesh Amman, which did not have internet connectivity

Previously unissued handout CCTV image issued by the Metropolitan Police of Amman (top left) in Streatham High Street

CCTV captured by a passing bus and issued by the Met Police of Amman running from officers in Streatham High Street

Timeline of terror: Sudesh Amman's ten days between prison release and tragedy

Here is a timeline in the case of Sudesh Amman, the convicted terrorist who stabbed and injured two people in Streatham High Road in February 2020.

- January 23, 2020

- January 24

- January 29

- January 30

- January 31

- February 1

- February 2

They agreed that, based on its policy framework, HM Prison and Probation Service 'could have recalled Amman to prison if satisfied that his behaviour indicated an increased or unmanageable risk of serious harm to the public or that there was an imminent risk of further offences being committed'.

The strategic firearms commander on the day, known as BX88 to protect his identity, told the inquest: 'In the context of an armed operation, one person lost his life and others were injured.

'I have reflected a great deal and I have to say, I have been back through this in my mind from a personal perspective, I don't see how we could have achieved a more effective result with the circumstances presented to us.

'I know that sounds harsh because Amman lost his life.

'We were responding to his actions, and his actions were attempting to kill people.'

Footage from undercover officers, CCTV and members of the public captured Amman's final 35 minutes, during which he walked slowly to the high street, performing a series of about-turns which police described as anti-surveillance, before stealing the knife.

Members of the public could be seen scrambling for safety in shops as Amman sprinted along the busy street, before swiftly turning 180 degrees to face the officers with his knife raised at them.

He closed the short distance between them - reckoned to be around one metre (3ft) - within half a second, just as he was shot.

One witness who filmed the incident from a 201 bus travelling south, muttered: 'This ain't real, this ain't real.'

Footage then showed Amman spending around 10 seconds lying on his back and flailing his arms and legs wildly before he stopped moving. He was declared dead 90 minutes later.

Amman had laughed as he was sent to prison after being found with a combat knife and a jihadi flag at his home and was found to be encouraging his girlfriend to kill her parents.

In jail, he boasted of a 'strong desire to go to the after life' and openly shared a desire to kill the Queen, become a suicide bomber and join ISIS.

He said he wished he had been involved in the killing of Fusilier Lee Rigby, who was executed with a knife in front of Woolwich barracks in May 2013.

Prison officers searched his cell just weeks before his release and found a pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, written out in Arabic.

A senior officer wrote to the prison governor of Belmarsh jail, asking if he could keep Amman in jail longer, but it was not possible.

Police and MI5 teams believed that Amman was 'one of the most dangerous individuals' that they had investigated and it was a question of 'when not if' he would launch an attack.

Nevertheless, on February 2 last year he grabbed a carving knife from a shop and stabbed two passers-by, one of them seriously, during a rampage up a busy shopping street in South London.

He was shot dead by armed surveillance officers in front of Boots on Streatham High Road, 62 seconds after the attack began, when he turned and ran at the officers.

However, the inquest heard about three opportunities in the 10 days between his release and launching his attack, which might have stopped the attack.

Rajiv Menon QC, for Amman's family, questioned an anonymous senior Scotland Yard officer called HA6, who said he had a 'well thought-out plan to manage the risk.'

Mr Menon said the plan was a 'miserable failure' adding: 'Two people were stabbed and was shot and killed.'

CCTV of Amman in Lidl, Streatham, on January 29, 2020. Police said he was carrying out reconnaissance before his attack

A photograph from February 2020 of an armed police officer recovering medical bags at the scene in Streatham High Road

Police officers conducting a finger tip search at the scene following the terror attack in Streatham High Road

Sudesh Amman at his probation hostel in Streatham, south London, the day he stabbed two members of the public

Men carry a body to a private ambulance at the scene in Streatham High Road following the attack on February 2, 2020

CCTV image issued by the Metropolitan Police of Sudesh Amman holding a knife in Streatham High Street

CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police of armed officers approaching Amman as he lays prone in Streatham High Street

CCTV captured by a passing bus and issued by the Metropolitan Police of Sudesh Amman facing two officers in Streatham

CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police of armed officers approaching Sudesh Amman as he lays prone in Streatham

Amman leaving his probation hostel on Leigham Court Road, Streatham. He is shot dead around half an hour later

How homegrown terrorist was deemed one of Britain's most dangerous

Sudesh Amman was described by senior police and MI5 officers as 'one of the most dangerous individuals that we have investigated' just two weeks before the homegrown jihadi was released from prison.

Intelligence compiled on 20-year-old Amman - both in the build-up to his conviction for collecting material useful for terrorism and disseminating terrorist publications, and in the days before his release from Belmarsh - painted a picture of a young man bent on radicalisation and committing a crime.

His inquest heard he expressed a desire to kill the Queen, and remarked his wish to have been involved in the 2013 murder of fusilier Lee Rigby outside Woolwich barracks.

He was also seemingly obsessed with his own celebrity, apparently boasting to cellmates that he was Belmarsh's youngest terror offender.

Amman was born on December 27 1999 in Coventry, and was the oldest of six boys of Sri Lankan descent. His mother and her children moved to London in 2007, while his father moved back to his homeland.

Amman was thrown out of school several times for fighting and poor behaviour before being arrested in 2018 on suspicion of terror offences. Searches of his hard drive revealed a folder entitled 'Chemistry', including videos and instruction manuals concerning use of weapons.

Another instruction manual was labelled 'How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mum'. Amman had posted al Qaida propaganda on a family WhatsApp group, and exposed siblings as young as 11 to graphic material. He also urged his then-girlfriend to kill her parents.

Little was known about Amman's path to radicalisation - although he claimed to have been traumatised by witnessing the decapitation of human bodies during a family holiday to Sri Lanka aged 15.

While in prison, staff heard him openly showing his extreme views, which included 'a desire to kill the Queen, become a suicide bomber and join Isis', the inquest heard. He also described himself as 'a wild tiger who doesn't obey the law'.

His mother, Haleema Khan, recalled how she spoke with her son on the phone less than 30 minutes before the atrocity, as he made his way to Streatham High Road, during which he ended their conversation with 'Bye bye, I love you mummy'.

She said she had no reason to suspect her son - who had a long history of extremism, was prone to bouts of anger, and repeatedly asked if she had said her prayers - would carry out such an attack. 'I didn't think he was going to do these things,' she said.

Amman was under surveillance on January 31 when he bought bottles of Iron Bru, Bacofoil and brown parcel tape in Poundland, which they rightly believed he might use to make a fake suicide vest.

He also went into the same Low Price Store on Streatham High Road where he later grabbed the knife, and looked at a section of the shop with sharp knives before claiming he did not have any money.

MI5 and the police convened an emergency joint operations teams meeting that evening to decide what to do but decided to leave him out on the streets.

They chose not to search his room in the probation hostel in the next two days where they might have found his fake suicide vest, allowing them to arrest him and send him back to jail.

The probation service also decided that his suspicious behaviour was not enough to justify recalling him to prison for another 20 months to complete his sentence.

A third opportunity was missed when Amman, who was wearing a bulky coat, began acting oddly as he made his way towards Streatham High Road on the afternoon of February 2, walking slowly, doubling back on himself.

The inquest jury at the Royal Courts of Justice was asked to reach conclusions on whether the probation service or police could have stopped the attack taking place.

They were asked whether the probation service should have taken steps on January 31 or February 1 to have Amman recalled to prison, as a result of the purchases he had made which 'raised serious suspicion that he was intending to make a hoax suicide belt.'

They were also asked whether the police investigation team ought to have asked to have Amman's probation hostel room searched following the purchases.

A last question asked whether Amman should have been stopped and searched by armed police officers on February 2 between him leaving the hostel at 1.22pm and running out of the Low Price Store with a knife at 1.57pm.

Amman was not treated for his injuries because of the possible suicide vest, but he had suffered two significant gunshot injuries and they were not survivable, the jury was told.

They were directed to return a finding of lawful killing after one of the undercover officers known as BX87, broke down giving evidence, saying he thought Amman was going to kill him.

Questions are now likely to be asked about whether Amman could have been separated from more serious terrorist offenders while in prison.

He was moved into the high security unit in Belmarsh jail where he was seen 'deep in conversation' with Ahmed Hassan, who tried to blow up a tube train at Parsons Green tube station in September 2017.

Other reports suggested he was mixing with terrorist prisoners including Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, who helped build the bomb that killed 22 people.

In a letter to his mother on July 25, two months after his arrest, Amman wrote: 'Why do I keep smiling? I never used to smile. Wallahi I it makes me tear up when I go to jummah prayers with all the brothers.

'It is such a beautiful experience, it's a blessing, you don't understand. I have never felt this amount of happiness in any mosque, hugging and salaaming the brothers.'

CCTV image issued by the Metropolitan Police of Amman walking along Streatham High Road before attacking two people

Undated file photo taken from a classified police intelligence report into Sudesh Amman when he was under surveillance

CCTV footage of Sudesh Amman walks from his bail hostel to Streatham High Road, where he carried out his terror attack

Sudesh Amman's very public final moments on a busy Sunday afternoon

Sudesh Amman's knife-wielding final moments were all the more dramatic due to the extremely public arena in which they played out.

It was a busy Sunday pre-lockdown afternoon in Streatham, south London, when 20-year-old Sudesh Amman grabbed a large kitchen knife from a hardware store and set about stabbing two members of the public at random.

Little over a minute later, he had been shot dead after pivoting to charge at two undercover police officers who had given chase, as horrified members of the public looked on.

The gravity of the situation was borne out in footage compiled from CCTV, public transport, police body-worn cameras and mobile phones belonging to members of the public. Witness testimony at Amman's inquest described with vivid detail the 62 seconds between him grabbing the knife and being mortally wounded.

Jagmon Singh, who worked in Low Price Store on Streatham High Road, said he thought Amman 'looked disturbed' when the convicted jihadi walked into his shop and began browsing the knives before selecting a weapon with which to enact his rampage.

'I thought it was a case of shoplifting,' said an officer known as BX87, one of a dozen police witnesses granted anonymity at the inquest, and who was part of the surveillance effort on the day. A minute later, he opened fire.

Katherine Day said she saw Amman apparently 'skipping and hopping' up the street before lunging at targets, including a child. She and her partner Thomas Baldwin were later commended by one of Amman's victims for helping save his life after performing initial first aid before medics arrived on the scene.

CCTV footage showed the street to be busy with pedestrians, so much so that nine covert police officers were able to work seemingly undetected by Amman.

Just 20 seconds before Amman burst out of the Low Price Store, and slightly ahead of his first casualty, a woman with a small child and a pushchair could be seen heading northwards along Streatham High Road.

Further along the street at Holland and Barrett, internal CCTV showed two young children standing at the shop entrance as Amman sprinted past with the knife clasped in his hand.

Four women were then seen scrambling into a Boots store on Streatham High Road. Two seconds later, he was dead. BX87 broke down as he recalled fearing he was about to become Amman's latest victim. ' was like a cartoon - the blade of the knife almost doubled in size,' he said. 'It really dawned on me at this point that I was going to get stabbed.'

Pedestrian Fida Hussain said the shooting appeared to be 'some sort of prank that you see on YouTube or something'.

Indeed, Mr Hussain was not the only one initially failing to fully grasp the gravity of the situation, with CCTV footage showing an elderly woman resolutely trying to cross the road on the pavement across from Amman's body, despite two armed police shouting at her to stay back.

The case echoes that of Usman Khan, who stabbed to death two Cambridge University graduates at a prison rehabilitation conference at Fishmongers' Hall two months before the Streatham Attack.

Khan had failed to reform while in prison for planning to set up a terrorist training camp and had also mixed with serious offenders in jail.

He launched his attack 11 months after his release, after police failed to search his flat when suspicions were raised about his behaviour.

He was also wearing a fake suicide belt and was shot dead by police.

The case of Amman prompted a swift change in the law to prevent terror offenders being automatically released at the half-way point of their jail sentence.

Amman was released from HMP Belmarsh into the community on January 23, 2020 to serve the remainder of his 40-month sentence on licence.

This was despite pleas from the police and MI5 for Belmarsh to keep Amman locked up over concerns about his extremist mindset.

The Belmarsh governor at the time, Rob Davis, said he was powerless to prevent his release, Amman's inquest heard.

Amman, convicted in 2018 of 13 counts of collecting material useful for terrorism and disseminating terrorist publications, went on to commit his atrocity 10 days after he was sent to live at a probation hostel in Streatham, south London.

His case resulted in the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill, which was given royal assent less than four weeks after the atrocity.

Giving evidence in the Commons as the Bill made its way through Parliament, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland QC told MPs: 'As we saw in the Streatham attack, we cannot have a situation where an offender - a known risk to the public - is released without any oversight by the Parole Board.'

The law applies to offenders sentenced for crimes such as training for terrorism, membership of a proscribed organisation, and the dissemination of terrorist publications.

It ensures terrorist offenders serve two-thirds of their sentence before they are considered eligible for release.

Amman's inquest previously heard evidence of him revelling in his status as a young terror offender in Belmarsh, and also heard he was determined to commit an atrocity upon his release.

Handwritten notes found in his cell appeared to pledge allegiance to the leader of so-called Islamic State, though it was never proven that they were written by Amman himself.

The inquest heard that it was deemed impossible to conclude the disciplinary investigation into Amman before his release, meaning his detention could not be extended.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: 'My thoughts are with the innocent people who were violently attacked in Streatham as they were going about their daily lives.

'I want to commend the brave actions of Met police officers who prevented further tragedy by running towards danger and putting themselves in harm's way to help protect the public.

'It is clear from the findings of the inquest that serious lessons must be learned.

'I know that I speak for Londoners when I say that those who seek to divide us, hurt our communities and destroy our way of life, will never succeed.'

Detective Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, senior national co-ordinator for counter terrorism policing, has thanked the armed officers who shot dead Amman.

Dean Haydon, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations at the Metropolitan Police, speaks to journalist outside New Scotland Yard in London today, following the conclusion of the inquest

CCTV image of Amman pictured on Streatham High Road in London, moments before he stabbed two members of the public

CCTV image issued by the Metropolitan Police of Sudesh Amman leaving his room in his probation hostel

Metropolitan Police photo of packaging from the knife that Amman stole from the Low Price Store on Streatham High Road

Armed police at the scene in Streatham High Road, South London after Sudesh Amman was shot dead by armed officers

Speaking outside New Scotland Yard, Mr Haydon said: 'I want to thank the jury for their careful examination of the evidence in this case, but also for the coroner's positive comments and praise - both towards the investigation team and the armed officers who responded to the incident.'

'Crude' bomb belt and lack of planning separated Streatham from other attacks

The Streatham High Road terror attack shared many similarities with several domestic atrocities that had been carried out in the years before.

But unlike 2017's Manchester Arena bombing, the Westminster Bridge attack that same year, and the Fishmongers' Hall stabbings months before Streatham, Sudesh Amman's 62-second reign of terror was later proved to be about as unsophisticated as is possible to imagine.

Mercifully, only two people were injured that day. A man and a woman, stabbed in the torso as they made their way along a south London street on Sunday, February 2 2020, each suffered wounds but survived.

Police said the undercover operation that placed Amman on round-the-clock armed surveillance by nine officers at the time he struck limited the number of casualties.

Amman, like Fishmongers' Hall killer Usman Khan, Manchester bomber Salman Abedi, and Westminster Bridge jihadi Khalid Masood, spent some time planning his atrocity.

Abedi, and his younger brother Hashem, took months to cultivate and stockpile explosives and shrapnel at a variety of Manchester addresses, eventually using them in the heavy backpack bomb he detonated outside an Arianna Grande concert, killing 22 and injuring hundreds more.

Masood bought the knives he used in the Westminster Bridge attack nearly a fortnight before he struck. He then went on an effective farewell tour of family members, telling his mother 'They'll say I'm a terrorist, I'm not,' before carrying out reconnaissance in central London. He also tried to clear his debts ahead of his death, in line with his Muslim faith.

Fishmongers' Hall killer Khan was said to have spent several days buying cling film, bandages, glue and a weightlifting belt, which he combined with parts from an Xbox controller and an Energizer battery charger to fashion a hoax suicide device.

He wore this under his coat to a prisoner education event in central London in November 2019, in which he killed two Cambridge graduates.

The suicide belt was described by an expert as 'an elaborate hoax', which looked like a realistic device capable of mass destruction.

Amman's, on the other hand, consisted simply of 250ml Irn Bru bottles, kitchen foil and parcel tape bought from Poundland two days before he struck. It was later dismissed as a 'crude' fake, although police are trained to consider all such devices as viable until proven otherwise.

Other than that, his only known preparation, carried out in the 10 days following his release from Belmarsh prison, was believed to be reconnaissance of the Low Price Store and the Poundland purchases.

He added: 'I also want to pay tribute to the courage shown by the officers in relation to how they pursued the attacker but also stopped anybody else coming to harm.

'This demonstrates the true professionalism shown by them but also their bravery in the face of danger.'

Mr Haydon also praised officers for being in 'the right place at the right time' to stop Streatham terror attacker Sudesh Amman before any members of the public were killed.

'Police had real concerns about this attacker - both in relation to his extremist mindset and also what he may do on release from prison,' he said.

'It is for this reason that we employed and he was monitored by a very professional and highly skilled team.'

Amman was under 24-hour surveillance by a team of undercover officers before the attack and the inquest found the incident could have been prevented if he had been returned to prison when he bought items that could have been used to make a fake suicide belt.

Mr Haydon said: 'It is for this reason they were in the right place at the right time to intervene and stop this becoming a murderous attack.

'Lethal force is rare in this country but as you have heard the evidence in this case, that once the attack had started, lethal force was one of the most effective ways of stopping the attack.'

Mr Haydon also said the Streatham terror attack is a reminder the terrorist threat in the UK 'is very real'.

He said: 'I want to reassure everybody that we work around the clock tirelessly with great determination and effort to combat any forms of terrorist activity in this country.

'Incidents such as this take up a lot of resources and we use hundreds of officers from across the country, including police staff working with other agencies and other emergency services, and I want to pay tribute to their excellent work.'

He added: 'I also want to say thank you to the members of the public that came to the aid of those that were injured on that day, staying with them, reassuring them, until medical assistance arrived.'

Mr Haydon said his thoughts were with the two people who received serious stab wounds in the attack, adding: 'Lastly, a case such as this is a timely reminder that the terrorist threat is very real and the terrorist threat has not gone away.

'I therefore encourage everybody to remain alert and vigilant, and report anything suspicious to the police.'

The Independent Office for Police Conduct concluded that the Met officers 'acted appropriately and proportionately' to the threat that was posed when they fatally shot Amman.

The watchdog, releasing its report upon the conclusion of the inquest, said there was nothing which indicated officers committed a criminal offence or breached police professional standards, and no organisational learning was identified.

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick praised the officers for 'their professionalism, courage and decisiveness in the most challenging of circumstances - fast-moving, horrific and frightening'.

She added: 'The attack happened on a busy high street, and quite simply their quick actions almost certainly saved lives.

'While we have foiled a number of planned terrorist attacks in recent years, unfortunately we won't be able to stop every attack.

'Terrorism remains a substantial threat across the UK, and we would therefore urge the public to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity or behaviour that might be linked to terrorism to police.'

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