Cambridge University graduates Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones 'unlawfully killed', jury concludes
Video report by ITV News Anglia's Natalie Gray
Two Cambridge University graduates who were stabbed to death during a terrorist attack in London were "unlawfully killed", an inquest has concluded.
Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25, were both killed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan at a prisoner rehabilitation event at Fishmongers' Hall in November 2019.
An inquest at the Guildhall in London heard Khan had been released been released from prison 11 months previously, where he was placed under strict licence conditions.
He had spent eight years inside for planning to set up a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.
Khan was also under investigation by counter-terrorism police and MI5 around the time of the attack.
Having fatally stabbed both Saskia and Jack, Khan, who was wearing a fake bomb vest, was eventually tackled by delegates and driven out onto nearby London Bridge where he was shot dead by police.
The jury criticised agencies involved in the management of Khan, saying there was “unacceptable management, a lack of accountability and deficiencies in management by Mappa (multi-agency public protection arrangements”.
The hearing heard how those involved with Khan had been blinded by his "poster-boy image" for the rehabilitation event which was run by Cambridge University.
On the day of the attack, Khan was pictured talking to Saskia at the event before he struck.
He then went on to attack Jack in the men's toilet after Jack caught him making his final preparations, before then stabbing Saskia in the neck.
Paying tribute to her son, Jack's mother Anne Merritt told the inquest: "Jack was a force for good in the world, someone who made other people's lives better for knowing him.
"We are hugely proud of who Jack was and what he stood for. His death was a tragedy but his life was a triumph."
Saskia's family added: "She should be defined as someone who battled to improve the lives of others in several spheres and was driven to make real changes in the world. "Her incredible research in the field of sexual violence with Rape Crisis Cambridge more than shapes part of that legacy."