A BOURNEMOUTH MP who lost his brother in the Bali bombing has reacted angrily after 18 terrorists jailed for the atrocity had their sentences cut.

Tobias Ellwood's eldest brother Jonathan, 37, was among 28 Britons killed when two bombs exploded in Kuta on October 12 2002, claiming the lives of 202 people.

Indonesia's government reduced the terrorists' sentences, on the grounds of good behaviour, as part of its tradition of prison remissions on the South East Asian country's Independence Day.

Cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, 66, who was convicted of conspiracy in the attack, had his 30-month prison term reduced by four-and-a-half months.

But the MP for Bournemouth East said the length of the sentence should be determined by the crime not the conduct of a prisoner, and early release should only be considered an option if the individual poses no further threat.

Mr Ellwood fears that as soon as the cleric is released he will encourage more Muslims to carry out terrorist atrocities, and he has written to Foreign Secretary Jack Straw urging him to encourage his Indonesian counterpart to reconsider.

"It brings little comfort to us here in the UK, where our security forces are doing their utmost to combat terrorism, if, when we fly abroad, we are exposed to terrorism because other countries are not matching our efforts," he said.

"After the horrific events of 9/11 the world was united in its efforts to combat terrorism.

"A global war on terrorism must be fought globally, otherwise terrorists will exploit those pockets of weakness, encouraged by the likes of cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir."

One bomb exploded in an Irish bar located on the main tourist strip on the night of the appalling attack, and the second was detonated shortly afterwards in a van outside a nearby nightclub.

The ringleaders of the attack, who were jailed for life or sentenced to death, were not eligible for remission.

First published: August 18