Would-be terrorist caught trying to flee UK with combat fatigues and rucksack on his way to join ISIS and marry a jihadi bride is freed onto Britain’s streets

• Taxi driver Naseer Taj was jailed in 2016 after police raided his flat in Bedford
• The wannabe planned to ditch his pregnant wife and marry a jihadi bride in Syria 

A wannabe terrorist who was jailed after being caught trying to flee the UK with a rucksack, hair trimmer, factor 50 sun cream and combat fatigues to fight with ISIS has been freed.

Taxi driver Naseer Taj, then 26, was jailed for eight years and three months in May 2016 after his shocking plan to ditch his pregnant wife and marry a jihadi bride was exposed.

At his trial at the Old Bailey in London, Taj’s Walter-Mitty style plans were revealed, which included a rag-tag of items for his kit, such as an eye-patch, manicure set, £200 in cash and a mosquito net.

The bizarre stash was uncovered by counter terrorism police on December 29, 2014, who swooped on Taj’s one-bedroom flat in Bedford, while he and his wife Rabia Khalique were at home.

He was due to leave the UK two days later, having booked a Eurostar ticket to Brussels and a flight on to Turkey.

Taxi driver Naseer Taj, then 26, was jailed for eight years and three months in May 2016 after his shocking plan to ditch his pregnant wife and marry a jihadi bride was exposed

Taj tried to convince the jury that a number of trips he had previously made to Turkey – and his planned visit – was to punish his British wife after a series of blazing rows.

READ MORE: Taxi driver who planned to flee to Syria to join ISIS and live with a jihadi bride to teach his British wife ‘a lesson’ is jailed after he was caught escaping with a hair trimmer, a rucksack and a sun hat for the trip

But, officers discovered the former FedEx worker had a stash of extremist material on his phone, including al-Qaeda magazines which included an article about parcel bombs, UPS and FedEx.

It was also revealed during the trial that Taj was in daily contact with Mohammed Uddin, who went to Syria in November 2014 but was sent back after being detained by Turkish authorities.

Uddin was jailed for seven years in February 2016 after pleading guilty to a charge of preparing acts of terrorism.

He had complained of the ‘cold water’, ‘bland food’ and ‘doing absolutely jack’ to Taj while in Syria.

MailOnline revealed earlier in August that Uddin, now aged 37, is on the verge of being paroled having previously been released on licence in December 2019, but recalled in February 2023 for breaking parole rules.

A parole decision on the 10th May 2023, was not to release Uddin, but stated: ‘If not released by the panel, Mr Uddin would otherwise be released at the end of his sentence in August 2023.’

MailOnline recently contacted the Parole Board about Uddin’s close associate Taj, and it has been confirmed that he was released in August 2019 after a positive parole recommendation.

A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: ‘We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Naseer Taj following an oral hearing.

The taxi driver was arrested at his flat in Bedford just days before he was set to leave the UK 

‘Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.

‘A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.

‘Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing.

‘Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing.

‘It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more.

‘Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.’

The release of Taj after little more than three years in jail is more shocking as his trial was told disturbing details about how he was in contact with a number of extremists and concocted a tissue of lies to protect himself and others.

Taj also exchanged texts with ISIS fixer Abu Qaqa – aka Raphael Hostey, from Manchester – and asked him if Iraq was the best place for a quick martyrdom.

Meanwhile, he discussed marriage with a woman in Syria called Umm Jibreel to smooth their entry into the city of Raqqa.

On December 13 2014 he told her: ‘I dnt wanna pressurise u into deciding 100% on marrying me…Keep me posted I’ll be waiting (sic).’

She replied: ‘…no!!! WALLAHI (by God) there’s no pressure…I’v been making istikhara (prayer) about this for a long time (sic)’.

The defendant sent thousands of tweets, using a profile picture of an al-Qaeda leader with a background image of Jihadi John wielding a knife.

In the days before his arrest, he posted more than 1,000 tweets and retweets, with 27 per cent of them referring to ISIS.

Naseer Taj sent thousands of tweets, using a profile picture of an al-Qaeda leader with a background image of Jihadi John wielding a knife

The defence at his trial claimed Taj had planned to live peacefully in Syria with his new wife, but he had changed his mind about travelling shortly before his arrest.

But the jury was also told that police found Taj had assumed the name Abu Bakr Al-Kashmiri to open a Twitter account, which is no longer available.

The wallpaper on the account, used an image of Mohammed Emwazi – the British Muslim known as Jihadi John who was filmed carrying out beheadings and was killed in a drone strike in November 2016.

MailOnline has been at the forefront of investigations into the number of dangerous terrorists who have been quietly freed over the last few years after winning a parole appeal or completing their sentence.

The sheer scale of the released terrorists has led to a warning by some of the UK’s counter terrorism experts.

Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, told MailOnline: ‘We have to understand that terrorist crime is different. It’s not good enough to say ‘Protecting the public is our number one priority.’ It clearly isn’t.

‘When a released terrorist goes and kills people, the police and security services will be bled. Whereas the real blame lies with the criminal justice system and sentencing.’

‘WE DIDN’T SUSPECT A THING: NASEER WAS JUST A NORMAL BEDFORD BOY’ 

A jury at the Old Bailey found Naseer Taj guilty of plotting to pursue martyrdom with Islamic State terrorists.

But despite his extremist beliefs, the court heard Taj had a normal upbringing, working for his father’s business before pursuing a career as a taxi driver – and was described by those who knew him as a ‘normal Bedford boy’.

The court heard how Taj left school at 16 with four or five low-grade GCSEs. 

He initially worked on the till in his father’s fast-food take-away and then as a security guard.

He worked briefly for FedEx couriers in a warehouse for three months while applying for his taxi badge. 

Friends are convinced he was recruited by extremists from elsewhere in the country during a ‘weak moment’. 

One said: ‘We don’t have people with extreme views in Bedford. It’s just not something that happens here.’

Another said: ‘We didn’t suspect a thing. Naseer was just a normal Bedford boy, educated and raised in the town by a very nice, hard-working family.

‘He was very respectful to his parents and his elders, and he was always polite and friendly. Nobody would ever have expected him to be involved in anything so terrible.’ 

Taj broke down in tears when he was interviewed by police and had denied he was planning to join ISIS. 

Asked what he planned to do in the war-torn region, he replied: ‘Possibly cook, I’m a good driver, I’m good at computers and I speak good English.  

‘A legitimate caliphate provides everything – a home, clothing, food and if you want, work, it’s up to you.’

On June 26, Taj had travelled to Turkey, travelling by Eurostar to Brussels and then flying to Istanbul by Pegasus Airlines, returning the following day.

He sent a photograph of himself eating room service in the hotel in Istanbul to his wife, adding: ‘I wanted to use these trips to give me space because she was very possessive. I wanted to use it to chill out and for her to reflect on what she was doing and she did realise, but when we patched it up, it got back to normal.’ 

Following a trial in February, he was found guilty of preparation of terrorists acts and having copies of the al-Qaeda magazine Inspire. 

He was jailed today for eight years and three months, with the judge telling him he had failed to ‘fool’ the jury.  

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