Jury finds police and MI5 failings in London Bridge attack

An inquest into the terrorist attack at Fishmongers’ Hall has concluded that failures by MI5, the police and the probation service all contributed to the deaths of Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones.

The inquest heard that Merritt and Jones were unlawfully killed in the attack at a prisoner education event at the hall in November 2019, with the jury concluding that ‘missed opportunities’ in the way the attacker, Usman Khan, was investigated by the security services and the police in the run-up to the incident probably contributed to the deaths of the victims.

There was agreement that there was a failure in the sharing of information and guidance by those responsible for monitoring and investigating Khan, whilst also referring to ‘unacceptable management and lack of accountability’ by those monitoring Khan in the community.

Khan was under priority investigation by MI5 after he was released on licence in December 2018. He had served eight years in high-security prison for trying to set up a terrorist training camp in Pakistan. Later that year, intelligence suggested that he intended to ‘return to his old ways’ and to commit an attack after release. The intelligence was passed to special branch police but it was not shared with those responsible for managing Khan in the community, including his probation officer and Prevent officers at Staffordshire police.

The jury further concluded that deficiencies in the security arrangements at the event, which was organised by Learning Together, a prisoner education organisation run by Cambridge University, also contributed to their deaths. This was because authorities were deemed to have had a ‘blind spot to Khan’s unique risks due to ‘poster boy’ image and lack of psychological assessment posts released from prison’.