in 2013 and the July 7, 2005 bombings in London which killed 52. The New York Times estimates Choudary's group, was linked to "25% of all Islamist terrorism-related convictions in Britain between 1998 and 2015". Usman Khan, a convicted terrorist and the main perpetrator in the London Bridge terrorist attack on 29 November 2019, was said to be a member of his group. In 2019, the BBC reported that Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed, one of the attackers in the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, that killed more than 250 people, was radicalized by Choudary after attending his sermons in the U.K. in 2006. The British government estimates that "Choudary and his followers" have "inspired or influenced" more than 100 foreign fighters to fight in jihad. According to the head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, Dean Haydon, “These men have stayed just within the law for many years, but there is no one within the counter-terrorism world that has any doubts of the influence that they have had, the hate they have spread and the people that they have encouraged to join terrorist organisations. <p>“Over and over again we have seen people on trial for the most serious offences who have attended lectures or speeches given by these men.” AIVD, the Dutch intelligence agency, also assessed Choudary "to be a key influence in the spread of the jihadi movement in the Netherlands". Groups led by Choudary were “the single biggest gateway to terrorism in recent British history”, according to "the leftwing group Hope Not Hate". In 2013, Hope not Hate presented a report which identified Choudary as "a serious player on the international Islamist scene", saying that although there was no evidence that he was directly responsible for instigating any terrorist plots, "he helped shape the mindset of many of those behind them" and "through his networks linked them up to terror groups and supporters across the world." Choudary dismissed the claims as "fanciful", saying that if they were true, UK security services would have arrested him. Public reception and criticism Choudary has enjoyed wide exposure in the UK through "frequent media appearances", and according to Graeme Wood, "accepting absolutely every media request that he receives". He has been heavily criticised by most UK newspapers, some of which describe him as an extremist, or radical cleric or preacher. In January 2010, British Muslim Guardian contributor Mehdi Hasan wrote: "Is Choudary an