That is when he will be eligable for parole. It is a life sentence because he will never be clear of the penal system. If he ever violates the terms of his parole when he gets out, he will be back in prison again serving the rest of his sentence.
Considering he didn’t actually kill anyone, I think this is as harsh a sentence as could be given in the circumstances.
I think this article is also quite illustrative that the AQ terrorists are also the enemy of moderate muslims who are patriotic Britons. Despite what most people on this board seem to believe. Not all muslims are wicked and evil and want to murder or enslave infidels.
Muslim soldiers have fought and died for this country, and these bastards are prepared to reserve a special punishment for those muslims who do not follow their peculiar and evil brand of Islam....
The short sentence implies that the behavior is correctable; and in the case of a religious fanatic there is no known method to correct his behavior other then a lobotomy.
The bottom line is that his sentence is a waste of taxpayer dollars. By getting a life sentence, short as it actually is, he is getting what he wants. He is living on the taxpayer dollar wasting British wealth on supporting him and his miserable family.