Feb. 3 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday his government will work on a new law aimed at preventing early release for inmates who were convicted of terrorism-related offenses, in light of a stabbing attack in London over the weekend.
Johnson said rehabilitation for radicalized terrorists "rarely works" and that more scrutiny should be given those individuals before they are considered for early release.
Sudesh Amman, 20, who'd recently been released from prison early after serving time for spreading extremist material, stabbed two people Sunday before he was shot dead by London police. A third person received minor injuries from broken glass after the gunfire.
"The problems we have with re-educating and reclaiming and rehabilitating people who succumb to Islamism, it's very, very hard," Johnson said. "It can happen but the instances of success are really very few and we need to be frank about that."
Johnson said his government would create legislation to prevent the early release of any potential conspirators in Sunday's attack, and indicated the law will apply retroactively to other terror-related cases.
"We do think it's time to tackle action to ensure that ... people in the current stream do not qualify automatically for early release, people convicted of terrorist act offenses," he said.
Amman's mother, Haleema Faraz Khan, said Monday her son was radicalized on the Internet and in prison, describing him as a "polite" person before.
Khan said she talked to her son hours before the attack, and that he was a "lovely boy" whom she couldn't believe was involved in a terrorist act.
