Usman Khan

Usman Khan (; 10 March 1991 – 29 November 2019), also known as Abu Saif, was a British Islamic terrorist who on 29 November 2019, murdered two people near London Bridge before being subdued by civilians and fatally shot by City of London Police.

Early life Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, to parents of Pakistani descent, Khan's education included attendance at Haywood High School. where, prior to his December 2010 arrest, he visited the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, as noted in a 2013 report by the British Parliament's Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation. Khan's involvement with al-Muhajiroun, Khan faced scrutiny but denied terrorist affiliations in interviews with the BBC and a local newspaper under a pseudonym. Despite a 20-month inquiry, no charges were filed against him. Usman Khan was arrested in 2010 as part of a group of nine individuals targeted by MI5’s Operation Guava. In 2012, all members of this group pleaded guilty to charges of terrorism inspired by Al-Qaeda. Their plans included bombing significant locations in the UK such as the London Stock Exchange, the Houses of Parliament, the US embassy, two rabbis at two synagogues, the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, the home of then London Mayor Boris Johnson, as well as proposing to establish a terrorist training camp in land owned by Khan’s family in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The group also engaged in planning meetings and made preparations for travel related to terrorist activities, with intentions to carry out further attacks in the UK upon returning from the proposed camp in Kashmir.

Khan proposed to raise funds in the UK rather than overseas, arguing that supporters in the UK earned in a day what donors in Kashmir earned in a month. He added: "On Jobseeker's Allowance we can earn that, never mind working for that." His home bugged by MI5, he was recorded calling non-Muslims "dogs". Khan's plans to build a terror-training camp in Kashmir never materialised and "there was no evidence that there was any real funding to build it". The group had formed in October.

Following his arrest, evidence of Khan’s advanced knowledge in field craft was noted, highlighting his significant role within the group. In 2012, he was sentenced to imprisonment for public protection and an indeterminate period in prison with a minimum term of eight years, reflecting the judge’s assessment of Khan and his associates from Stoke-on-Trent as exceptionally committed jihadists operating at a level of seriousness and effectiveness above that of their co-defendants. Upon completion of this term, Khan was released from Whitemoor prison in December 2018 under standard licence conditions, which included probation supervision. Stafford Borough Council, with support from multiple agencies, arranged suitable housing following his release.

During his imprisonment, Khan engaged in the Healthy Identity Intervention Programme, aimed at rehabilitating terrorism offenders. This participation continued post-release with the Desistance and Disengagement Programme, focusing on tackling terrorism's root causes. Khan's involvement in these programmes led to his recognition as a rehabilitation "success story" by a Cambridge University programme, culminating in a case study feature. Following these events, discussions emerged regarding the potential overestimation of recidivism fears, with a paper published by the CTC Sentinel in April 2020 described Khan and another recent terrorism recidivist as an atypical example, noting a recidivism rate of less than 5% among terrorists. Khan sat quietly during the celebration event, attending storytelling and writing workshops; even giving feedback on one. He then stabbed two Learning Together organisers in the chest, killing them, and injured three other people. He was wearing an electronic tag and a fake suicide jacket when he was shot following the stabbing.

Burial and aftermath Following his death, Khan's body was taken to a mosque in Birmingham, for a ritual janazah Muslim funerary ceremony. The body was then flown to Islamabad. Khan's burial took place in Kajlani in Kashmir.

"Usman Khan Call 4 Justice" graffiti in support of Khan appeared on multiple walls in his Stoke hometown in the week following his death.

Links to terror group Khan had previously been connected to Al-Muhajiroun, the group led by Anjem Choudary. Khan's solicitor Vajahat Sharif claimed that Khan had become disillusioned with Al-Muhajiroun and that during his prison sentence he had repeatedly requested the help of a deradicaliser, to no avail. Sharif said that in 2018 Khan appeared to be rehabilitated, and that he may have been "re-groomed" by extremists after his release.

Political and social debate In 2012, after being convicted of offences related to a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange, Khan was sentenced to be kept in prison for an indeterminate time. This meant that he could not be released whilst he was still considered to be a danger to the public. Following an appeal in 2013, his indeterminate sentence was quashed, and in its place he was given a 16-year prison sentence, which meant he would be entitled to automatic release on licence after having served eight years. The parole board confirmed that it had no involvement in deciding when Khan was released from prison, saying Khan "appears to have been released automatically on licence" even though he had a "serious long-term plan" and a commitment to terrorism.