A TERRORIST who studied in Blackburn is to be released from jail hours before the start of the Olympic Games.

Saajid Badat was jailed for 13 years in 2005 for conspiring to blow up a plane.

He was linked to the ‘shoebomber’ Richard Reid who tried to blow up a transatlantic jet with explosives hidden in his footwear.

Badat studied the College of Islamic Knowledge and Guidance, in Moss Street, Little Harwood. He was arrested in November 2003 after high-profile raids in Blackburn.

It has been reported he will walk free on July 27 - the official opening date of the London Games, where security will be on high alert against a terrorist attack.

Last year a top probation boss said he feared Badat, originally from Gloucester, may not be properly tracked when he was released due to Government cuts.

And speaking yesterday, Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officer, said he still held those concerns.

He said: “If you’re on a fixed sentence and were sentenced after 2005 you have to be released when you’ve done half your time because it is fixed in law. It’s an unfortunate coincidence that Badat’s release date will be some time in July.

“Our concerns remain. We need to be assured by the Government that there are sufficient trained staff working in probation hostels, which is where he will undoubtedly be sent.

“We are concerned that the cuts are compromising public protection.”

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman would not confirm his exact release date, but said Badat’s jail sentence would be up after seven-and-a-half years, which corresponds to this summer.

She said: “With any sentence issued after 2003, the offender would only serve half of that in prison.”

Blackburn MP and former Justice Secretary Jack Straw said: “Whenever he is released he will be subject to strict conditions and he’ll be liable to be recalled immediately to prison if police or security staff have concerns.

“If he is being released on the eve of the Olympic Games, then that is complete coincidence.”

Badat arrived in Blackburn in December 2001 and rose through the ranks of local mosques.

But he became involved in terrorism after travelling and returned to the UK with equipment to blow up a plane.

A court heard he planned to target a transatlantic flight but pulled out.