Fishmongers’ Hall: Graduates were unlawfully killed by terrorist

Failings by state agencies contributed to the deaths of two graduates who were killed by a convicted terrorist at a prisoner rehabilitation event, a jury has found.

Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25, were stabbed to death by Usman Khan at Fishmongers’ Hall in November 2019.

Khan had been released from prison 11 months previously, the inquests at London’s Guildhall heard.

The jury concluded that both victims had been unlawfully killed.

Jurors found there had been unacceptable management and a lack of accountability in the oversight of Khan.

They concluded there had been failures in the sharing of information between state agencies responsible for monitoring the convicted terrorist.

Deficiencies in the organisation of the event at Fishmongers’ Hall, including a lack of security measures, were also found to have been a factor in the two deaths.

After the conclusions were delivered, a female member of the jury addressed the victims’ families, saying: “The world lost two bright stars that dreadful day.”

Khan, who was from Stafford, had been released from prison in December 2018 after spending eight years inside for planning to set up a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.

The 28-year-old stabbed Mr Merritt and Ms Jones inside the hall before he was chased along London Bridge by members of the public and shot dead by police.

By Daniel Sandford, home affairs correspondent

When you go into these inquests, you’re never quite sure how the evidence will unfold.

For seven weeks, we’ve heard details of his behaviour in prison, of how he was managed on release from prison and of how the key bits of intelligence about him were handled.

And bit by bit, the families of Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt have become more and more horrified by what they’ve heard.

And the jury, it seems, have also agreed with the families, because when asked three key questions they concluded that:

So all in all it has been a damning set of conclusions from the jury after hearing weeks of evidence.