Update: it appears that press reports were wrong, because according to the BBC, Trevor Brooks aka Abu Izzadeen is still in prison. Which obviously means that he could not have been the attacker.
Confirmed from multiple sources - official and community - that Trevor Brooks NOT attacker. He's still in jail despite what others report.
— Dominic Casciani (@BBCDomC)
Earlier:
Press reports are circulating that the terrorist responsible for the attack on Westminster Bridge in London, has been named as Abu Izzadeen, born Trevor Brooks from Clapton in Hackney, an infamous UK-born hate-preacher amd Islamic extremist who had been convicted for raising funds for terrorism.
Suspected attacker Abu Izzadeen, here heckling John Reid at an event in Leyton. https://t.co/g1vLdbLT8F
— Tom Peck (@tompeck)
Suspected London Terrorist Named As Hate preacher Abu Izzadeen (Trevor Brooks). (@LaStampa) pic.twitter.com/OZfSejAFig
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911)
Twitter account now suspended of "hate preacher" unofficially identified as London attacker. pic.twitter.com/1qf6QtKlhq
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA)
A 2013 DailyStar article, reports that the convicted terror fundraiser Abu Izzadeen branded a Muslim chaplain who served British soldiers a “traitor” for working for the UK Government, and added that the firebrand preacher has encouraged followers to “look out” for the cleric.
Izzadeen, who was jailed for four-and-a-half years in 2008 after being found guilty of raising funds for terrorism, made the comments in a video posted on YouTube.
In one address Izzadeen, 35, slammed Asim Hafiz, the former imam of the British Armed Forces, for taking a government job while also railing against Muslims for adopting British customs and co-operating with the authorities.
Izzadeen – formerly an electrician named Trevor Brooks – compared Hafiz, 35, to Muslims who do not take Ramadan seriously. Later, he suggested that Hafiz renounced his religion by joining the Army. While miming firing a gun, he said: “The one he kill Muslims, he bombs masjid (mosque) and he kill wedding party...it’s OK.” He claimed Hafiz had sold his religion. “Who would sell jannah (paradise) for £30,000, except the one fool?”
Two Islamic extremists who admitted to a "serious and deliberate" breach of counter-terrorism restrictions by travelling abroad have been sentenced to two years in prison. Simon Keeler, 44, and his friend Trevor Brooks, 40, were extradited to the UK after they were arrested in Turkey on a train bound for Bucharest, Romania, in November last year. The pair had been required to notify police three days in advance of any overseas travel under Part 4 of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008, but failed to do so.
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According to a separate 2016 report from The Mirror, Izzadeen was one of two Islamic extremists who admitted to a "serious and deliberate" breach of counter-terrorism restrictions by travelling abroad have been sentenced to two years in prison. Trevor Brooks, then 40, was extradited to the UK after he was arrested in Turkey on a train bound for Bucharest, Romania, in November last year.
The pair had been required to notify police three days in advance of any overseas travel under Part 4 of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008, but failed to do so.
Following appeals, the defendants' sentences were set at three and a half years, but the travel restrictions applied for a decade. Keeler has also been convicted previously of possessing false identification documents. Mr Justice Saunders took into account their early guilty pleas and willingness to be extradited, and accepted their stated reasons for travel.
But in sentencing, he called the breach "serious and deliberate" and stressed the importance of counter-terrorism restrictions. Mr Justice Saunders said: "They (restrictions) are particularly important at this time when there has been recent terrorism activity in several European countries and the fear of further terrorist attacks is intense."
Both men were sentenced to two years in prison. The maximum term for the offence is five years.
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Brooks was born in Britain to Christian parents of Jamaican origin. He converted to Islam at the age of 17 with one of his brothers and changed his name to Abu Izzadeen. Former builder Keeler became the first white British Muslim to be convicted of terrorism offences.
