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London (PA Media\/dpa) – A convicted terrorist’s \u00abposter boy image\u00bb blinded authorities to the threat before he launched an attack on Fishmongers’ Hall, killing two young people, an inquest jury has concluded.<\/p>\nLondon (PA Media\/dpa) – A convicted terrorist’s \u00abposter boy image\u00bb blinded authorities to the threat before he launched an attack on Fishmongers’ Hall, killing two young people, an inquest jury has concluded.<\/p>\n
A catalogue of failures and omissions contributed to the deaths of Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, at the hands of Usman Khan, the jury found on Friday.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, Merritt’s father Dave Merritt said the arrangements for managing Khan following his release from prison were \u00abnot fit for purpose.\u00bb<\/p>\n
He also described MI5 and West Midlands Counter-Terrorism Police as \u00abcomplacent and passive in the face of Khan’s extreme and continuing threat.\u00bb<\/p>\n
Jones’ uncle Philip Jones said the event organizers Learning Together, a prisoner education programme, appeared to have \u00abscant regard\u00bb for safety, while state agencies also shared responsibility.<\/p>\n
On Learning Together, he said: \u00abIt could be said that their single-minded view of the rehabilitation of offenders, using Usman Khan, in our view, as a ‘poster boy’ for their programme, significantly clouded their judgment.\u00bb<\/p>\n
Jones and Merritt were fatally stabbed by Khan at an alumni event put on by Learning Together on November 29, 2019.<\/p>\n
Khan, 28, who wore a fake bomb vest, was tackled by delegates armed with a narwhal tusk and a fire extinguisher, and was driven out on to London Bridge where he was shot dead by police.<\/p>\n
An inquest at the Guildhall in London heard that Khan had been released from prison 11 months earlier under strict licence conditions and was under investigation by counter-terrorism police and MI5.<\/p>\n
But the \u00abmanipulative and duplicitous\u00bb terrorist hid his murderous intent from those tasked with keeping the public safe, the hearing was told.<\/p>\n
He had even been described in court as a \u00abposter boy\u00bb for Learning Together after jurors saw a \u00abthank you\u00bb video message he had recorded.<\/p>\n
The jury found the victims had been \u00abunlawfully killed\u00bb and confirmed basic facts surrounding their deaths.<\/p>\n
It concluded that failings in Khan’s management in the community and information-sharing and guidance by agencies responsible for monitoring or investigating Khan contributed to the deaths.<\/p>\n
Jurors also found that omissions or deficiencies in the organization of the event at Fishmongers’ Hall and its security contributed to the deaths.<\/p>\n
In a narrative conclusion, the jury highlighted \u00abunacceptable management and lack of accountability,\u00bb \u00abserious deficiencies in the management of Khan\u00bb by the multi-agency organisation responsible for public safety and \u00abinsufficient experience and training.\u00bb<\/p>\n
The jury added there was a \u00abblind spot to Khan’s unique risk due to a ‘poster boy’ image.\u00bb<\/p>\n
The hearing was told Khan had spent eight years in jail for plotting to set up a terror training camp in Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Behind bars, he had become more dangerous amid incidents of violence and extremist bullying, jurors were told.<\/p>\n
On his release in December 2018, he was assessed as being a \u00abvery high risk of serious harm\u00bb to the public.<\/p>\n
MI5, which had already launched a covert investigation with West Midlands Police supported by Staffordshire Special Branch, had intelligence that Khan was planning to \u00abreturn to his old ways\u00bb and aspired to carry out an attack.<\/p>\n
Yet the attack aspiration information was not passed on by police to others involved in Khan’s management in the community and the \u00abold ways\u00bb intelligence was labelled \u00ablow grade.\u00bb<\/p>\n
Probation officers responsible for Khan lacked experience of dealing with terrorist offenders, jurors heard.<\/p>\n
A proposal to allow Khan to travel unescorted to London for a Learning Together event was mooted at a multi-agency public protection arrangements (Mappa) meeting in August 2019.<\/p>\n
Jurors heard there was no record of it being positively approved by the panel, although no-one raised any objections or discussed the risks.<\/p>\n
The panel failed to recognize the \u00abtrophy\u00bb status of Fishmongers’ Hall, near London Bridge, as a potential high-value terrorist target at the time, it was claimed.<\/p>\n
Security services later became aware of the plan but did not warn against it, despite remaining \u00absceptical\u00bb about Khan.<\/p>\n
The ongoing investigation had not identified suspicious activity and MI5 was considering closing it, the hearing was told.<\/p>\n
But jurors heard there were some potential warning signs – flashes of anger from Khan, his failure to find a job, and his increasing isolation as he spent time in his flat playing Xbox.<\/p>\n
Officers from the Government’s Prevent anti-radicalisation scheme spent just 18 minutes with him after he moved out of approved premises in September 2019.<\/p>\n
In the final days, Khan bought a set of knives and assembled a fake suicide vest at his rented flat in Stafford.<\/p>\n
He travelled on the train to London alone, putting on the dummy device under a bulky jacket en route.<\/p>\n
A chilling image showed Khan, still wearing his coat, sitting next to Jones at a table at Fishmongers’ Hall.<\/p>\n
He then went into the men’s toilets and strapped two knives into his hands in a cubicle.<\/p>\n
It was pure chance the first person he encountered was Mr Merritt, whom he stabbed repeatedly.<\/p>\n
Khan went on to stab Jones once in the neck and injure three other people shouting \u00abAllahu Akbar\u00bb before he was shot dead.<\/p>\n
Nick Armstrong, for Merritt’s family, said it was \u00abcompletely crazy\u00bb that Khan was allowed to attend Fishmongers’ Hall on his own, given what was known about him.<\/p>\n
It was argued the Fishmongers’ Hall management, who were unaware a convicted terrorist was attending the event, should have been advised to put more security measures in place and Khan could have been met by an officer en route to the venue.<\/p>\n
Since the attack, the Ministry of Justice has brought in a raft of new measures to tighten up management of terrorist offenders in the community.<\/p>\n
Dr Ruth Armstrong and Dr Amy Ludlow, co-founders and directors of Learning Together, said they were \u00abheartbroken by the loss of our beloved colleague Jack and student Saskia\u00bb and pledged they were \u00abdetermined to reflect on the lessons of these inquests as we move forwards\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: \u00abIt is important that the Government and operational partners learn lessons to prevent further incidents like this, and we will also consider the inquest findings. I will always do everything in my power to keep the British people safe.\u00bb<\/p>\n
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London (PA Media\/dpa) – A convicted terrorist’s \u00abposter boy image\u00bb blinded authorities to the threat before he launched an attack on Fishmongers’ Hall, killing two young people, an inquest jury has concluded. A catalogue of failures and omissions contributed to the deaths of Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, at the hands of Usman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":107557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[343],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-155134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-actualidad"},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t