Killed by jihadist he tried to help
Parents pay tribute to son who was trying to help knife maniac
This has shown real flaws in how we are dealing with convicted jihadists
London Bridge jihadist Usman Khan murdered the academic who ran the prisoner rehab course he attended before launching his terror attack.
The killer stabbed Jack Merritt, 25, who was yesterday named as one of the convicted bomb plotter’s victims.
Jack was course coordinator of the event at Fishmongers’ Hall, which was being run by Cambridge University’s Institute of Criminology.
Khan, 28, who was on a tag after being freed early from prison, is understood to have been scheduled to speak at the venue about his time behind bars.
More details about his terrifying blade rampage emerged yesterday as experts said authorities need to rethink how they manage jailed extremists.
Khan killed two people on Friday afternoon and injured three others, who are being treated in hospital.
Jack, of Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, studied law at Manchester University before doing a postgraduate degree at Cambridge University.
A woman, who has not been named, was also killed by Khan.
The jihadist, of Stoke- on-Trent, was given permission from the authorities to travel to London for the course, described as “bringing students in higher education and criminal justice institutions together in transformative learning communities”.
As pa r t of the prog ramme , undergraduates and university degree students in prison studied together.
The aim wa s to form connections that “make society more inclusive and safer by reducing reoffending”.
Yesterday, Jack’s dad David described his son as “a beautiful spirit who always took the side of the underdog” and who believed deeply in the concept of prisoner rehabilitation.
Witnesses claimed Khan “threatened to blow up” the building after attending the conference.
Armed with two knives and a fake suicide belt, he started “lashing out” at people on the course in a downstairs room before he was bundled out of the front door as he tried to go upstairs.
Video footage showed Khan forced to the ground on nearby London Bridge by several have-a-go heroes.
One man sprayed him with a f ire extinguisher while another, a Polish worker at the hall, lunged towards him with a narwhal tusk taken from the wall inside.
Convicted murderer James Ford, who was on prison release, an off-duty British Transport Police officer and two tour guides – Tom Gray and Stevie Hurst – also waded in.
But yesterday the family of Ford’s victim said he should not be described as a hero.
Amanda Champion was killed by Ford in Ashford, Kent, in 2003. Her aunt Angela Cox said: “Yes, he did something nice but that doesn’t make up for what he has done. He’s not a hero and he never will be.”
Chief Constable Paul Crowt her, of Br i t i sh Transport Police, paid tribute to his brave officer.
He said: “This morning I spoke with the British Transport Police officer who bravely ran towards danger. The courageous actions he took when faced with the horrors of this attack are remarkable.
“He, as well as other members of the public, should be extremely proud of what they did to stop this man on London Bridge.”
Khan had been released automatically from prison last year after he was jailed over a foiled terror plot in 2012. The Parole
Board was supposed to determine if he was still a risk to the public but said yesterday that it was not consulted before he was freed.
Metropolitan Pol ice assistant commissioner Neil Basu said there was “no evidence” to suggest anyone else was involved in the attack.
He also said Khan was subject to an “extensive list of licence conditions” on his release from prison.
Khan was one of nine men who were arrested in 2010 and jailed for an al- Qaeda-inspired terrorist plan.
It has also emerged he had links to hate preacher Anjem Choudary and had served just half of a 16-year sentence for plotting to blow up the London Stock Exchange and murder Boris Johnson.
He also wanted to set up a terror school in Pakistan.
Khan was sentenced to an indeterminate detention for “public protection” with a minimum of eight years by Mr Justice Wilkie at Woolwich Crown Court. The judge termed Khan’s plans as a “serious, long-term venture in terrorism” and said he was an ongoing risk to the public.
Khan and four of his co- accused wrote to the judge before being sentenced, claiming to have changed.
In his letter, he said he wanted to attend deradicalisation programmes in prison and blamed his actions on being “immature”. The judge warned that “the sincerity or long-term nature of that stated contrition is more relevant for those who will have to manage their sentences than for me in passing them”.
However, experts said yesterday that the judge’s advice had been ignored.
In 2013, the Court of Appeal replaced the jail term with a minimum sentence of 16 years, which meant he was released after eight.
Since being freed last December, Khan had been living in Stoke-on-Trent and was monitored by an electronic tag.
He also had to take part in the Government ’ s Desistance and Disengagement Programme – a rehabilitation scheme offered to those who have been involved in terrorism.
Security expert Wi l l Geddes, a counter-terrorism expert and a security consultant who works with major corporations, said: “This has shown some real flaws in how we are dealing with convicted jihadists.
“They can’t be treated like other criminals – it doesn’t work. There are some real questions over how they are assessed as being rehabilitated when it comes time for them to be released.
“This man clearly wasn’t but was able to get out.
“These jihadists should be given indeterminate sentences with levels of checks they need to satisfy before they are released. There needs to be a level of experts assessing these people and that doesn’t seem to be the case at this time.”
Professor Anthony Glees, emeritus professor of Buckingham University’s centre for security and intelligence studies, said authorities were unable to cope with the number of terror risks on the UK’s streets.
He said: “The bitter truth is we’re talking about 12,000- odd people who MI5 have an interest in, with 300 being monitored.
“The fact that we have some in prison and they’re being released when they have clearly not been deradicalised is a real issue.
“We need a conversation on our national security and failings on how jailed jihadists are being dealt with.
“It’s horrific to think Khan was able to use a prisoner rehabilitation course as a mechanism to get into London with the authorities’ blessing.”
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh sent a message of sympathy to those killed and affected by the “terrible violence” yesterday.
And PM Johnson – who had been targeted by Khan when he was major of London – visited the scene with Home Secretary Priti Patel and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick.