An Al Qaeda-inspired terrorist who plotted to bomb a UK army base will be released from jail in weeks despite experts warning he is too dangerous to be set free.

Zahid Iqbal was a member of a terrorist gang who plotted an attack at a Territorial Army centre in Luton where a remote-controlled toy car would be used to carry a homemade bomb.

The co-leader of the group planned to make the bomb based on instructions in an Al Qaeda manual called ‘Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom – by the Al Qaeda chef’.

Iqbal and his co-conspirators were jailed in 2013 with the 43-year-old being handed a 16 year prison sentence after he admitted one count of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism.

He had also arranged terrorism training in Pakistan and discussed getting weapons.

Now, the Parole Board has ruled that Iqbal should be allowed back on the streets, three years earlier than his maximum sentence.

The controversial decision has been made, despite both his prison offender manager and community offender manager saying he should stay in prison.

And a terror attack survivor and experts have criticised the decision, saying he will strike again and believe the Parole Board will have ‘blood on their hands’

Iqbal is also thought to have had connections to Westminster terror attacker Khalid Masood.

Masood was investigated as part of the Army base plot and it was thought the pair may have knew each other. Masood had lived in Luton and it is thought they could have made contact at a gym.

On 2 November 2021 Iqbal was released on the direction of the Parole Board but was recalled in 2023 after a number of concerns were raised.

A report into his release said: ‘Evidence was presented at the hearing regarding Mr Iqbal’s progress and custodial conduct during this sentence and since his recall.

‘During his time on licence, Mr Iqbal was assessed by professionals as having low level of engagement in extremism ideology.

‘Mr Iqbal had undertaken an accredited programme on his sentence to address extremist offending and ways of disengaging.

‘He had also completed work to help him better understand his faith and was seen to distance himself from other extremist offenders.’

The report added that while there had been ‘no behavioural issues in custody since recall’ the ‘key concern’ for professionals was they did not know what he had been doing while on licence because of the ‘nature of the breaches’.

This included having a phone which probationers were not aware of.

The report added: ‘The psychologist recommended release, whilst the prison offender manager and community offender manager both recommended Mr Iqbal remain in custody.

‘The panel examined the release plan provided by Mr Iqbal’s probation officer and weighed its proposals against assessed risks.

‘The plan included a requirement to reside in designated accommodation as well as strict limitations on Mr Iqbal’s contacts, movements, and activities. The panel considered whether all licence conditions would be necessary in this case. It concluded that the release plan would be robust enough to manage Mr Iqbal in the community.’

The report added: ‘The panel was not persuaded that Mr Iqbal continued to be a risk of carrying out, encouraging, or supporting extremist activity. No other potential area of risk had been identified, and the evidence was that Mr Iqbal no longer held an extremist ideology.’

He will now be under strict conditions which include stay at a designated address, disclose details of relationships, be open to police searches and meet restrictions of tech uses.

Jade Clough, who was injured in the Manchester Arena attack in 2017 said that Iqbal’s released terrified her.

She said: ‘I have real fear he will carry out an attack. It’s awful. Why not listen to the experts who know him?

‘Surely they know him better than anyone recently? They are saying keep him in prison. It’s a shocking decision.

‘It piles more and more pressure on our security services as well.’

And terrorism expert Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of UK forces in Afghanistan, described the decisions as ‘extremely unwise’.

‘This has all the hallmarks of the case of the London Bridge attacker, Usman Khan. He was released and then carried out a horrific attack. I fear that happening here,’ Colonel Kemp said.

‘The Parole Board has gone against the advice of experts. They are putting the lives of British citizens at risk.

‘If this individual does attack, then the blood of his victims will be on the hands of the Parole Board.’

The report added: ‘After considering the circumstances of his offending and time on licence, the progress made while in custody and the evidence presented at the hearing, the panel was satisfied that imprisonment was no longer necessary for the protection of the public.

‘The panel was not persuaded that Mr Iqbal continued to be a risk of carrying out, encouraging, or supporting extremist activity. No other potential area of risk had been identified, and the evidence was that Mr Iqbal no longer held an extremist ideology.’

In 2023, three members of the terror gang, Umar Arshad, Syed Farhan Hussain and Mohammed Sharfaraz Ahmed, were quietly released from jail.

Arshad was previously jailed for for six years and nine months and Hussain for five years and three months.

While Ahmed was handed a 11 years sentence.

In March 2013, at Woolwich Crown Court, the four men admitted one count of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism between January 1, 2011 and April 25, 2012 at a hearing on March 1.

Sentencing the men, Mr Justice Wilkie QC said in April 2013 that Iqbal and Ahmed, then 25, posed a continuing risk to the public.

Their extended sentence of 11 years in jail and an additional five years on licence after release reflected their key roles in the plot.

The terms of their sentences mean they could be recalled to prison anytime during their five years on licence.

The judge said: ‘In each of their cases, their persistent commitment to terrorist activity, in a number of different ways, over a significant period of time and, in each case, their willingness to take practical steps to obtain terrorist training abroad, marks them out as particularly dangerous.

‘This, coupled with the fact that, after their houses had been searched, and they were obviously under serious suspicion, they nonetheless continued to access material consistent with the mindset which informed their previous preparatory activities, persuades me that they continue to be ‘dangerous’ to such a degree that I should exercise my discretion to pass an extended sentence.

Al Qaeda-inspired terrorist who plotted to bomb UK army base will be free in weeks despite prison officials saying he is too dangerous to be let out | Daily Mail Online