Anjem Choudary, a Muslim Cleric is said to have a Link with 500 British IS Jihadis

A Muslim preacher whose speeches stirred audiences to fever pitch is convicted of spurring followers to support Islamic State.

Britain's most prolific jihadi recruiter Anjem Choudary is facing up to a decade behind bars after he was found guilty of terror offences.

The extreme cleric has been convicted of inviting support for terror group Islamic State in a series of lectures released on YouTube.

Security sources believe Choudary is linked to 500 British jihadis who have fled the UK to join the terrorist organisation in Syria and Iraq.

Until now, Sky News has been unable to report his conviction after a judge imposed a reporting ban due to a linked trial of Choudary's associates from Luton, who were also accused of encouraging support for IS.

The juries in the two cases were not aware that they were sitting on connected cases in the same building at the Old Bailey.

Speaking exclusively to Sky News the night before his conviction, Choudary insisted he was merely exercising his right to freedom of speech.

The 49-year-old from east London said: "If you look at my speeches, I have said the same thing for 20 years. For me, it is a matter of worship.

"If people are implementing the Sharia, then I cannot shy away from what the divine text says in relationship to that.

"If you cannot say when you believe in something and you cannot share that view, then you don't really have freedom to express yourself in this country."

The jury took less than three days to find Choudary and his co-accused Mizanur Rahman, 32, unanimously guilty of inviting support for a terrorist organisation.