Tears for tragic terror victims Saskia & Jack
“out of respect for the victims and their families” and due to the ongoing probe and inquests.
Offering his condolences to Jack and Saskia’s loved ones, he said: “I am convinced they represent all that is good in the world and I will always feel the deep hurt of not being able to save them.”
Darryn also praised the people Khan wounded for being “so brave” – saying some refused treatment until others who were more seriously hurt were tended to first.
He added: “That consideration and kindness filled me with hope on that dark day.”
And Darryn said he was “eternally grateful” to the people who helped, adding: “Not only do I want to thank those who confronted the attacker but also those who put themselves in danger to tend to the injured, relying on us to protect them while they cared for others.”
Darryn, who works in the Ministry of Justice communications department, is now urging people to “challenge hate and spread kindness” by backing his peace project, Extinguish Hate. He is also asking people to donate to fundraising pages for the victims, at saskia-jones.muchloved.com and Celebration Of The Life Of Jack Merritt on GoFundMe.com.
Khan, of Stafford, was arrested in December 2010 and jailed in 2012 for terror offences. He did two rehabilitation courses before his release in December 2018.
The 28-year-old was part of an al-Qaeda-inspired group planning attacks in the UK, including one on the London Stock Exchange.
His rampage came after the 2017 terror atrocity at London Bridge in which Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba killed eight people and injured 48.
They ploughed a van into pedestrians and then lashed out with knives before being shot dead by police.
THE two victims of last month’s London Bridge terror attack were mourned at their funerals yesterday.
Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25, were both much-loved Cambridge University graduates whose bright futures were cruelly snatched away, family and friends said.
Saskia’s private funeral in Stratford-upon-Avon was followed by a public memorial service attended by 400 mourners.
Rev Michael Price, who taught Saskia at school, said she was a “life-shaper” who will never be forgotten.
He praised her as “somebody who rolled up her sleeves and did something about it”.
Reading a moving tribute from her loved ones, he said: “The police were going to be so blessed by having a girl with all her talents. We cannot help but feel robbed.“
At Jack’s funeral in Cambridge, singer Nick Cave, 62, performed the final song, Into My Arms.
Family and friends spoke of Jack’s great kindness, compassion and empathy.
Amy Ludlow, who set up the Learning Together prisoner rehabilitation programme on which Mr Merritt was a course co-ordinator, said: “We are heartbroken to lose you and we miss you so much. We will take forward your politics of love, with renewed hope and courage.” Writing in a book of tributes, brother Joe said Jack would want people to “work towards a more fair world”. He added: “He wouldn’t want this to defeat us, or stop us living our lives. Nor would he want it to be used to fuel Islamophobia and to push for harsher incarceration.”
Pal Laura Suggitt said: “You were changing the world and you are still, that will never stop.” School friends wrote: “Jack was the one who introduced us to the world beyond the end of the high street: to music, festivals, culture, wit, politics, morality and honour.”
Jack Merritt
TALENTS Saskia Jones
SONG Cave yesterday
SOLEMN Jack’s coffin arrives for funeral yesterday