Evening Standard, on UK Politics, 7 November 2026

3.0out of 10Minor

Terrorist Anjem Choudhury's housed in three-bed north London council flat

Tap a highlight to see why it matters.1 finding

A convicted terrorist who called for British troops to be brought home in body bags has been using TikTok to spread extremist messages to teenagers from a council-owned flat in north London, according to reports. Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, 43, was jailed for four years in 2007 after calling for British soldiers serving in Iraq to return in body bags and declaring: “We want to see their blood running in the streets of Baghdad.” A former associate of hate preacher Anjem Choudary, Rahman was convicted again in 2016 after pledging allegiance to Islamic State alongside him.

The pair were sentenced to five years and six months in jail but were released under licence in October 2018 after serving half their appointed time. Under their licence conditions, Rahman and Choudary were banned from contacting each other and accessing the internet, among other things, until July 2021. Choudary is now serving a life sentence for directing the terrorist group Al-Muhajiroun. Rahman, who writes under the name Abu Baraa, now lives in subsidised accommodation in a three-bedroom council-owned property in Enfield, close to several primary schools, according to the Daily Mail .

Despite his convictions, 14 of his texts on Islamic fundamentalism were listed for sale by Waterstones, Britain's largest high street bookseller. The father of four, an accountant, has since seen his books removed from Waterstones and TikTok's online shop. They are still available to buy from Amazon. He has also used TikTok to broadcast messages to teenagers from his Enfield home, according to the newspaper. One book, entitled What is Known From Islam By Necessity, appears to refer to Jews who “refuse to recognise the prophethood of Muhammed”, as “disbelievers” who are “destined for hellfire”.

A quick search of TikTok appears to show an account matching his alias has been banned. His channel had more than 4,000 followers and tens of thousands of likes before being banned when The Times newspaper approached the social media platform. A previous account had 6,000 followers.

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What we found (1)

The Evening Standard reports on a twice-convicted terrorist living in Enfield council housing and using TikTok, and it attributes most of its claims to the Daily Mail and The Times. Its headline calls him Anjem Choudary's right-hand man, although the body describes only a former associate who was barred from contact with Choudary.

  1. Headline goes beyond the article

    Minor

    “right-hand man”

    Why this matters
    The headline calls Rahman Choudary's "right-hand man", in the present tense and in the outlet's own voice.
    The impression it gives
    A reader takes Rahman to be Choudary's current deputy and close operational partner.
    The context
    The body calls him only a "former associate". It says the two were banned from contacting each other under licence, and that Choudary is now serving a life sentence. Nothing in the article describes a present working relationship or a deputy role.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“A former associate of hate preacher Anjem Choudary”
    • Elsewhere in the article“banned from contacting each other and accessing the internet”

    Show it in the article

What it gets right

  • “was jailed for four years in 2007 after calling for British soldiers serving in Iraq to return in body bags”

    It grounds the label 'convicted terrorist' in a specific conviction, sentence and quoted statement rather than an unsupported charge.

  • “according to the Daily Mail”

    It attributes the housing claims to their source instead of stating them as its own finding.

  • “appears to refer to Jews”

    It hedges its reading of the book's content and quotes the text directly, rather than asserting a characterisation.

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