LONDON BRIDGE
THE grieving dad of London Bridge terror attack victim Jack Merritt yesterday praised him for “always taking the side of the underdog”.
Tragic Cambridge graduate Jack, 25, was stabbed to death by exactly the kind of person he had dedicating his life to helping.
He was a course counsellor for Learning Together, a university group aimed at rehabilitating convicts.
And his terrorist killer Usman Khan, 28, who had even chillingly been helped by the course, was out of prison on licence.
But when their paths fatally crossed on Friday at an event hosted by the group in Fishmongers’ Hall, near London Bridge, there was no helping crazed Khan.
And Jack’s parents cruelly had their son snatched away as the terrorist – wearing a fake suicide vest – killed him and another yet unnamed victim, wounding three others, before being shot dead by police officers.
His devastated father David said on Twitter yesterday: “R.I.P. Jack: you were a beautiful spirit who always took the side of the underdog.”
He told how his son had been a, “champion” for those who were “dealt a losing hand by life and ended up in the prison system”.
Last night, their neighbour Dawn Marr, 80, who used to babysit Jack and his younger brother Joe, said: “I just can’t believe it. He was such a fine young man and his father was very proud of him.”
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Jack became a course coordinator for Learning Together after becoming a Master of Philosophy in Criminology. His dissertation was titled: “A critical analysis of the over-representation of black, Asian, and ethnic minority males aged 18 to 21 in the British Prison system.”
Khan, freed after serving half his 16-year sentence over a 2012 failed plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange, had studied philosophy with Learning Together during his time behind bars.
He had reportedly been invited to attend the Fishmongers’ Hall event along with other ex-prisoners to share his experience of the justice system.
A witness named Coralie said around 100 guests and 50 staff were there, including Khan who wore black clothing and sand-coloured boots.
After a break following a morning session, Khan returned to the hall on the north side of London Bridge, threatening to blow it up, a member of staff said.
It is understood that he started attacking conference-goers in a downstairs room. A seminar on story telling and creative writing was winding up as his rampage started at around 2pm.
Khan was grabbed and bundled out of the front door as he tried to go upstairs.
Video footage showed him then running across London Bridge wielding two kitchen knives. Members of the public tackled and disarmed him.
Police moved in and dragged bystanders away before they shot him