The Streatham attacker wasn’t born a terrorist, he was made into one – early release is far from the problem

The case for longer detention is fundamentally weak. If anything, the London terror attack shows how easily and rapidly very young minds can be moulded by contact with certain material

Sudesh Amman, the man responsible for stabbing two people in Streatham on Sunday, had been released from prison about a week before. He had served about half of a sentence for terror offences. The question of his automatic “early” release (it is a long-standing convention), therefore, has understandably been raised.

The suggestion is that if Amman had still been in a cell somewhere on Sunday afternoon, rather than roaming around south London, he would obviously not have been in a position to try to mount any kind of terror attack. Therefore, the argument runs, no one should be released earlier than their nominal tariff.

The prime minister’s response was typical enough when he declared: "I’ve come to the end of my patience with early release."