Inside the £550,000 east London terraced house owned by a British diplomat where Anjem Choudary preached hate to the world

This is the east London terraced home owned by a British Foreign Office diplomat and her husband where Anjem Choudary preached hate, MailOnline can reveal.

The 57-year-old Islamist preacher moved in to the three-bed rented property in Essex, with his family just weeks before counter-terror officers smashed down his front door in a dawn raid.

He is known to have delivered sermons to followers around the world as he directed he terrorist group al-Muhajiroun (ALM) from inside the property, which is worth around £550,000.

Neighbours told of their shock after Choudary was convicted on Tuesday of leading a terror organisation.

A married couple who live close by said: 'We all avoided him if we saw him, and I told the kids to stay away from him as well.

'He was only here for a couple of weeks before the massive police raid happened.

'I know those at the mosque down the road weren't happy about it either.

'They can't say who can or can't pray at a place of worship, but I know they were very clear on the fact they would not want him to preach there.

'Nobody wanted that association, because of what we knew of his past.'

The property was last listed for rent in June last year, meaning that Choudary's wife Rubana Akhtar and family must have moved out while her he was facing terror charges.

Choudary was found guilty of directing a terrorist organisation yesterday at Woolwich Crown Court. 

Choudary was found guilty of directing a terrorist organisation yesterday at Woolwich Crown Court. 

He became the first-ever Brit to be convicted for membership of the extremist Islamic group Al-Muhajiroun (ALM) under Britain's anti-terror laws.

It followed an unprecedented joint operation by law enforcement agencies in the UK, Canada and US to silence the terror guru and bring him to justice.

Choudary was convicted at London's Woolwich Crown Court of two counts of directing, membership and encouraging support of a proscribed organisation.

Canadian national Khalid Hussein, 29, was found guilty of being a member of a banned group.

Choudary was trapped by his own arrogance and ego after resuming his mission to radicalise youngsters when he completed a five-and-a-half year jail sentence imposed in 2016 for encouraging support of ISIS.

The firebrand - who inspired a generation of jihadi killers - was released in 2018 and began brainwashing recruits as young as 14 within days of his stringent parole licence conditions expiring in July 2021.

In a year he delivered more than 40 lectures, some to a small, selected circle but others with an audience of up to 150 from as far away as Brazil and Afghanistan.

He told listeners that terrorism was part of the 'deen' - faith - and joked about charging the media £9.11 to enter a press conference on the anniversary of 9/11, as well as naming a hurricane after Osama bin Laden.

In June 2022 the armchair jihadi warrior began preaching sermons online to the New York-based Islamic Thinkers' Society (ITS), which had been penetrated by two NYPD undercover cops.

Choudary referred to the ITS as 'our branch in America'. In one lecture, he boasted about being labelled 'the number one radicaliser in Britain,' adding: 'That is a badge of honour for me.

'It's a medallion on my chest. What do you want to call me? An extremist? Fanatic? All of these.'

But unknown to Choudary, ITS was infiltrated by undercover law enforcement officers in the US, who were present at online lectures in 2022 and 2023, held over the Element messaging platform.

Trained lawyer Choudary bragged to his followers that he was untouchable as he operated the worldwide tentacles of the sinister ALM group he co-founded in 1996.

Disciples of the group include the killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby, London Bridge atrocity leader Khuram Butt, Fishmongers' Hall attacker Usman Khan and members of a gang who tried to blow up Bluewater shopping centre.

During his brief time spent renting his home in Essex Choudary attended the local Masjid Adam Mosque on Seven Kings Road - but was banned from preaching there.

A trustee at the mosque said: 'When he initially moved, he attended the mosque a few times. He wasn't here for long.

'Obviously we all knew who he was and we didn't want him there, but he didn't cause any issues. He would come and greet us, pray and leave.

'We can't stop who comes in to pray, it is the house of Allah, everyone is welcome.

'But we wouldn't have let him preach here because it is against what we believe.'

One neighbour who lived on the same road labelled him as 'mental'.

He said: 'After already serving a sentence, if he was sensible he would have changed his ways.

'But instead he carried on. He seems like he is well educated, but he's misused it for the wrong reasons.'

Another neighbour who lives a few doors away said: 'I don't like anyone of any faith who tries to create division. It's unacceptable.

'The majority of people here were not happy that he had moved here and noone as far as I'm aware was necessarily friends with him.

'Most neighbours were raging, especially our Muslim neighbours who didn't want to be associated with him and didn't want him to tarnish the religion.'