A top Al-Qaeda chief could be free to roam Britain’s streets in a matter of weeks after he was granted a fresh parole hearing.
Rangzieb Ahmed, the most senior Al-Qaeda figure ever convicted in Britain, is due to appear before a parole panel on February 13 as he makes another bid for release.
The 48-year-old, once described as “Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man”, is expected to argue he has fundamentally changed during his time behind bars.
Ahmed made legal history in 2008 as the first person convicted in Britain of directing terrorist activity.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court found he had led a three-man cell preparing acts of mass murder against the British public.
Despite serving well beyond his minimum ten-year sentence, his repeated bids for parole have failed.
The conviction centred on Ahmed’s role in orchestrating a terror network with links to the highest levels of international jihadism.
Investigators established connections between the former taxi driver and the perpetrators of the 7 July 2005 London bombings, as well as the failed attacks two weeks later.
Rangzieb Ahmed is due to appear before a parole panel on February 13
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PACounter-terrorism officials believed an attack on British soil was imminent, though the specific target was unknown.
The plot was uncovered after police found three diaries containing contact details for senior Al-Qaeda operatives, written in invisible ink.
Ahmed was arrested by Pakistani intelligence in August 2006, held for a year, and then deported to the UK, where he was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of ten years.
In September 2022, the 48-year-old’s parole application was blocked after authorities ruled he remained too dangerous to release.
The following year, prison officials ordered him to undertake a de-radicalisation programme.
Ahmed was once described as ‘Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man’
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However, the Parole Board again refused his release in October 2024, concluding he continued to pose a risk to public safety.
A risk assessment submitted to the panel said Ahmed remained “susceptible to indoctrination” and presented a genuine danger of reoffending.
It noted the sentencing judge had found him “dedicated to the cause of Islamic terrorism”, believing it to be his religious duty.
Ahead of next month’s hearing, the Parole Board confirmed hundreds of pages of evidence would be examined.
The panel will hear from probation officers, psychiatrists, psychologists and prison staff involved in Ahmed’s case, as well as receiving statements from victims.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court found he had led a three-man cell preparing acts of mass murder
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PAA Parole Board spokesman said: “Decisions are based solely on the risk a prisoner could pose to the public and whether that risk can be safely managed in the community.”
Former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, Chris Phillips, has previously warned against any release for the 48-year-old.
He said: “It’s madness to be considering this. Public safety would be at risk.
“You have to ask whether it will ever be safe for him to walk the streets again.”
