Adebolajo identified as one of two men suspected of killing Lee Rig
Hate preacher Anjem Choudary was last night accused of having 'blood on his hands' after it emerged killer Michael Adebolajo was radicalised at the hands of his extremist group.
Dramatic BBC footage has emerged of Adebolajo standing side by side with Choudary as the Al-Muhajiroun leader ranted on a megaphone during a 2007 demonstration in Central London.
Evidence of the link sparked calls for urgent action to be taken against the hate preacher.
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Al-Muhajiroun has been linked to a series of terror attacks through its former members and followers of Choudary and former leader Omar Bakri.
It and several of its offshoot organisations, including Islam4UK, were banned in 2010, but Choudary - who is known for his disgraceful rhetoric against British soldiers - has never been prosecuted in the UK. Last night it emerged that Adebolajo was a regular on radical marches in East London in the mid-2000s and often attended incendiary protests and lectures.
Protests by the group and its offshoots have featured chants such as 'British Soldiers Burn in Hell' and banners such as 'Hell for Heroes' and those describing soldiers as 'Baby Killers'.
One linked group, Muslims Against Crusades, burnt a poppy on Remembrance Sunday in 2010 and its supporters targeted a forces' homecoming parade in Luton.
Last night Choudary disgracefully blamed the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby on the 'presence of British forces in Muslim countries'.
He said: 'We must concentrate on why this incident took place. That is the presence of British forces in Muslim countries and the atrocities they've committed, and how the Muslim community in this country are under pressure due to draconian laws which have tried to silence them.'
He added: 'I'm not going to apologise for exposing the crimes of the British government.
'Radicalisation is a stick which is used to beat the Muslim community. You need to make a distinction between legitimate ideological struggle. We live under a covenant of security. Words like radicalisation and fundamentalism are used by the British Government to silence Muslims.'
The BBC footage showed Adebolajo dressed in white Islamic clothes and surrounded by placards outside Paddington Green police station in April 2007.
He was attending a demonstration followed the arrest of Abu Izzadeen, another Al-Muhajiroun radical who was later sentenced to four and a half years in jail for terrorist fund-raising and incitement.
When asked about the attack, Choudary said: 'What he did was unusual and it's not the kind of view that I propagate and I do not condone the use of violence, but those views are out there.
'Some members of the Muslim community struggle to express themselves and he is making his voice heard in blood.'
Choudary met Adebolajo in 2005 - two years after the terrorist had converted to Islam, but last night claimed he hadn't seen him for two years.
He described Adebolajo as a man of 'impeccable character'.
When reminded by one TV interviewer of his comments about receiving £25,000 in benefits, which he once referred to as 'Jihad seekers allowance', Choudary said: 'I'm not getting £25,000 and I'm not on JSA. Get your facts right.'
Adebolajo is the latest in a long line of terrorists and hate-mongers allegedly to have come under the influence of Choudary
Last month Richard Dart was jailed for 11 years for plotting to attack British soldiers at Wootton Bassett. He was converted to Islam by Choudary and stopped as he tried to leave for Pakistan for terrorist training.
Roshonara Choudhry, the would-be assassin of Stephen Timms MP, was radicalised after reading a website containing Al-Muhajiroun propaganda.
The student stabbed the MP during a constituency surgery in Beckton, East London, in May 2010.
Preacher Abu Izzadeen, a convert from Hackney, East London, was among six Al-Muhajiroun members convicted of urging supporters to fight British troops and for raising terrorist funds. Also known as Trevor Brooks, he was jailed in 2008 last year for four-and-a-half years.
Al-Muhajiroun member Abdul Muhid was jailed for soliciting murder following protests in February 2006 against the Danish cartoons of the prophet Mohammed.
Terror experts said the language used by Adebolajo in his video rant after the killing was reminiscent of the rhetoric used by Choudary and his acolytes.
Anjem Choudary, who led Islamist group Al Muhajiroun - the banned forerunner to Islam4UK where Adebolajo often appeared with other radical protesters - said he recognised him from TV footage at the scene.
Choudary said: 'I went to the same primary school as him in Woolwich, Mulgrave, and grew up in the same area and he came to the local mosque - it was a peaceful community with lots of Muslim people from Somalia and Pakistan. I didn't know him that well so I can't say where his family was from.
'He converted around 2003 to Islam, before I met him and I knew him as his convert name 'Mujaheed' when he used to attend our demonstrations and lectures. I last saw him in 2011, he was a very nice man with impeccable character and nothing unusual about him.
He added: 'What he did was unusual and it's not the kind of view that I propagate and I do not condone the use of violence, but those views are out there. Some members of the Muslim community struggle to express themselves and he is making his voice heard in blood.'
Robin Simcox, research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said: 'You can imagine Anjem Choudary saying it - this thing about there we will never see peace in our lands until Muslims get it abroad.
'Al-Muhajiroun and its offshoot organisations have always targeted British soldiers with their rhetoric.
'They are radical groups whose message is that attacks on British soldiers are justified.'
He said Choudary was always 'very careful to go as far as he can without falling foul of glorifying terrorism laws'.
He added: 'He will not give instructions to his supporters saying “go out and attack soldiers”. But he would say “you might expect so see it happen”.
Professor Anthony Glees, director of the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham, said: 'We should never forget that terrorists are not born they are made.'
'We now need to deal properly with the makers - Choudary is a radicaliser who many will think has blood on his hands, and should have been prosecuted for incitement years ago.
'If Adebolajo can be demonstrated to have been a supporter of Al-Muhajiroun then he is a prime example of what happens when students and graduates are radicalised by the likes of Anjem Choudary and Abu Qatada.'
Another London-based radical, Abu Nusaybah, described the terrorist as 'a strong character'.
He added: 'He hid his actions from me, because he knew I would talk him out of it, he knew I believed we should we should voice Muslim concerns and pains publicly.'
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