BORIS Johnson has been branded “unfit” for office after he tried to blame Labour for Friday’s terrorist attack on London Bridge.

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme, the Prime Minister said the early release of the convicted terrorist Usman Khan who killed two people was because of legislation introduced by Gordon Brown’s “leftie government.”

When it was pointed out that his party had been in power for the last decade, Johnson said he’d only been Prime Minister for 120 days. "I'm a new Prime Minister, we take a different approach," he claimed He said: "The answer is, I'm afraid, that he was out because he was on automatic early release.

"When the judges reviewed his sentence in 2012 they had no option but to comply with the law that Labour brought in in 2008 which meant, effectively that he was out, they had to comply with the law as it stood and he was out in eight years."

He added: "I've been in office for 120 days. We're going to bring in tougher sentences for serious sexual, violent offenders and for terrorists. We've put more money into counter-terrorism. That is what we're going to do.

"I absolutely deplore the fact that this man was out of the streets. I think it's absolutely repulsive and we are going to take action against it."

Khan was jailed in 2012 for his part in a plot to bomb high-profile locations including Parliameny, and for trying to establish a terrorist training camp in Pakistan. , He was given an indeterminate public protection sentence (IPP) and was told that he would serve at least eight years in prison.

But the IPP sentence, which ends only when the Parole Board considers that an offender no longer poses a risk to the public, was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2013.

At his appeal Khan’s legal team claimed that he was a young man whose ambition was to bring sharia law to Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and that it was “highly unrealistic to suppose that the authorities in Pakistan would allow a teenager from Stoke to impose sharia law or run a training school for terrorists”.

Khan had served less than seven years when he was freed on licence last December and ordered to wear a tag.

Johnson told BBC One's the Andrew Marr Show: "I think it is ridiculous, I think it is repulsive, that individuals as dangerous as this man should be allowed out after serving only eight years and that's why we are going to change the law."

Meanwhile, on Brexit, Johnson insisted there would be no tariffs and checks on goods moving from Northern Ireland into Great Britain.

"There will be no tariffs and there will be no checks, and what we will ensure is that the whole of the UK - Northern Ireland and the rest of us - can come out," he said.

Asked how many EU directives and regulations would apply to the people of Northern Ireland that do not apply to the rest of the UK, he said: "That will be a matter for the people of Northern Ireland.

"The point is that Northern Ireland and the whole of the rest of the UK will be able to come out, do free trade deals, do things differently, we'll have free ports in Northern Ireland, we'll be able to cut VAT on sanitary products in Northern Ireland - all the advantages of Brexit will be there.

"Yes, for a period, Northern Ireland can remain in alignment with the rest of the EU if they choose to do so. If after four years the people of Northern Ireland decide that those regulations that you cite are not suitable for them, they automatically fall away."

The Tory leader failed to commit to an interview by the BBC's Andrew Neil, despite Labour leader Corbyn being grilled by the veteran journalist last week.

Johnson said he was "perfectly happy to be interviewed by any interviewer called Andrew from the BBC" - though he said he had taken part in many interviews during the campaign, adding that "no previous prime minister has done one-on-one TV debates".

He also confirmed he would meet US president Donald Trump when he attends the Nato summit in London this week, but sidestepped a question on whether he was worried he would say something embarrassing.

In a speech following Johnson’s interview, Corbyn warned that the country cannot be kept safe "on the cheap".

In a speech in York, the Labour leader paid tribute to the work of the emergency services who responded to the terrorist attack and said people have "a right to know from political leaders what steps they will take to ensure public safety".

Corbyn said that "the war on terror has manifestly failed".

He said: "For far too long, our country's leaders have made the wrong calls on our security.

"Their mistakes in no way absolve terrorists of blame for their murderous actions - the blame lies with the terrorists, their funders and recruiters.

"But if we are to protect people, we must be honest about what threatens our security.

"The threat of terrorism cannot and should not be reduced to questions of foreign policy alone, but too often the actions of successive governments have fuelled, not reduced, that threat."

Corbyn added that he "warned against the invasion and occupation of Iraq" yet the UK is "still living with the consequences today".

He continued: "Britain should not have joined that conflict which has, as a result, created a vast ungoverned space, that has contributed to misery in the region and made us less safe here in this country, and indeed many other parts of Europe."

The SNP’s Ian Blackford said: “Boris Johnson has been completely exposed. He has spent this election campaign in hiding – and no wonder. On the rare occasion he’s put under scrutiny, his evasive bluster and lies are exposed for what they are.

“Given that the Prime Minister is content to mislead the country on the things that matter to people - justice, Brexit, poverty, health and social care, and our NHS - it’s clear that no-one can trust a word the Tories say in this election.

“Boris Johnson is utterly unfit to be Prime Minister. On policy, on leadership and on personal character, Scotland deserves better.”