Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners convicted of terrorist-related offences have re-offended since being released in each of the last 10 years; and what the offence type was of each such re-conviction.

Data is held centrally on re-offending by offenders sentenced for terrorist-related offences only since 2008. To obtain data on re-offending by such offenders prior to 2008 would require a manual trawl of individual offender records, which could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The table below provides the figures since 2008 for those who have committed further offences following release from custody whilst subject to statutory supervision on licence.

In 2012 one offender who had completed a sentence for a terrorist offence in 2010 was convicted of a further terrorist offence.

We are changing the law so that the maximum sentence for three terrorist offences - weapons training for terrorist purposes, other training for terrorism and making or possession of explosives - will be increased to a life sentence. Terrorists convicted of these offences on a second occasion may also face the ‘two strikes’ automatic life sentence. This will mean, in turn, that more terrorists may be subject to licence conditions and recall to prison for the rest of their lives. We are also legislating so that no criminals convicted of serious terrorism offences will be automatically released at the half-way point of their prison sentence. Under these proposals, we are creating a new form of custodial sentence for offenders convicted of a range of terrorism offences, including possession of an article for terrorist purposes, inciting terrorism overseas and preparation of terrorist acts, under which they will only be released before the end of their custodial term under strict conditions at the discretion of the independent Parole Board. Before the Parole Board releases any criminal they must be convinced they no longer pose a threat to society.