Image source, AFP

The London Bridge area has remained cordoned off throughout the day as forensic officers continue to carry out checks following Friday's events.

Here is what has happened this afternoon and this evening:

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel visited the scene where two people were killed
• Tributes have been paid to University of Cambridge graduate Jack Merritt - the first victim to be named
• The woman killed in the attack has not yet been named
• Three others injured in the attack are recovering in hospital in a stable condition
• Usman Khan had been released on "extensive licence conditions" in 2018 for his part in terror attacks
• Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said "to the best of his knowledge" Khan was complying with those conditions and at this stage it is believed the 28-year-old acted alone
• Officers from the Met, West Midlands and Staffordshire police forces continue to search two properties - one in Stoke and the other in Stafford

We're going to bring our coverage of live events to an end now but our news story will continue to be updated with the latest developments.

London Bridge attack victim Jack Merritt has been described by his father as "a beautiful spirit who always took the side of the underdog."

A law and criminology graduate, Mr Merritt was a course coordinator for the University of Cambridge's prison rehabilitation programme.

The project, Learning Together, gives students and inmates the opportunity to study together, to help reduce re-offending - something Mr Merritt had a "deep commitment to", according to people who worked with him.

A vigil was held in Cambridge, where Mr Merritt was from, on Saturday.

His friends, family and those who worked with him have been paying tribute.

You can read more about the tributes made to Mr Merritt here.

Usman Khan is quoted further in one of Learning Together's newsletters in which he says the group "has a special place in his heart".

He added: "It is more than just an organisation, helping to provide learning of individual academic subjects.

"For me it’s main benefit is bringing people together, through the means of learning. Learning Together is about opening minds, unlocking doors, and giving voice to those who are shut down, hidden from the rest of us.

"It helps to include those who are generally excluded. This is what Learning Together means to me.

"I typed these reflections on the Chromebook I received and I am truly grateful to be able to express myself through it.

"I cannot send enough thanks to the entire Learning Together team and all those who continue to support this wonderful community."

Usman Khan, the London Bridge attacker, appeared as a “case study” in a report by the education initiative whose event he later attacked.

The recently published report focused on the work done by Learning Together providing education and help for prisoners at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire.

Khan was imprisoned there before his release on license in December last year.

Identified only as "Usman", Khan was said – since leaving prison – to have given a speech at a fundraising dinner, applied for a course, and been given a “secure” laptop that complied with his licence conditions.

The computer was said to have been provided in conjunction with police and probation, allowing Khan to continue the writing and studying he began while in jail.

Khan contributed a poem to a separate brochure, in which he expressed gratitude for the laptop, stating: “I cannot send enough thanks to the entire Learning Together team and all those who continue to support this wonderful community.”

BBC News Channel

A leading criminal barrister has claimed the probation service "has been destroyed" in recent years.

Mark Fenhalls QC, the former chair of the Criminal Bar Association, has said that those in the criminal justice system "are unimpressed" with politicians who talk about the rights and wrongs over the last few years.

He told the BBC News Channel: "The problem is what happens afterwards, in the prisons when they are not rehabilitated and when they are released if there is not a system in place to properly look after them and protect the rest of us."

Mr Fenhalls said the London Bridge attacker Usman Khan "appears to have been released according to law and obeying his licencing conditions".

He added: "Over the last ten or 15 years parliament continuously changes laws and ramps up sentences in every regard, but what it does not do is put money into the system to make sure that people who have have committed offences are rehabilitated."

BBC News Channel

Labour's Yvette Cooper says there will need to be a "serious and full" investigation into how the incident at London Bridge happened, given that the attacker, Usman Khan, had previously been jailed for terrorism offences.

Khan, who was shot dead by police during Friday's attack, was released from prison on licence in December 2018.

The former minister tells the BBC: "I think there are also some immediate questions that will need to be asked, particularly because we know there may be other people in the same situation as this attacker and it's really important that the government is taking every action to keep people safe."

A key question, she adds, is about what the level of risk assessment and safety assessment is for anyone coming to the end of their sentence.

Earlier, Ms Cooper clashed with Home Secretary Priti Patel over Usman Khan's prison release. You can read about that here.

People have been paying tribute to Jack Merritt, the University of Cambridge graduate who was named as one of the victims of the attack.

Mr Merritt, who ran a prisoners' rehabilitation programme, had been helping inmates at Warren Hill prison in Suffolk to study law.

Audrey Ludwig, who knew Mr Merritt through work, tweeted, external that his "deep commitment to prisoner education and rehabilitation was deeply impressive".

"I send condolences to his family, colleagues and the prisoners' group."

Another friend said Mr Merritt was "incredibly witty and intelligent, with more lust for life than many our age and a determination to make his mark in the world".

Usman Khan asked for specialist help to be deradicalised whilst in prison, but did not receive it, his solicitor has said.

Vajahat Sharif, head of terrorism, national security and political crimes at Tuckers solicitors, told the BBC, Khan had recognised his underlying ideology was "wrong and flawed" and wanted to "correct" himself.

But Mr Sharif claims that when Khan wrote to a "credible" specialist intervention provider for help, "the powers that be were unable to provide that assistance while he was in custody".

He says:“From my perspective, that seemed wrong, because while the offender is in custody and is looking back at his offending behaviour and recognising that it’s wrong, that’s the ideal time to engage and correct his thinking."

Rapper Dave has paid tribute to Jack Merritt - one of two people killed in the attack - describing him as "the best guy".

Mr Merritt, a University of Cambridge graduate, was a course coordinator for a prisoners' rehabilitation programme called Learning Together.

The Streatham-born rapper tweeted that the news of Mr Merritt's death was "one of the most painful things", saying Mr Merritt had "dedicated his life to helping others".

He added that it was "genuinely an honour to have met someone like you" and he would "never ever forget" everything that Mr Merritt had "done for us".

Dave won the Mercury Prize for his debut album in September, dedicating the award to his brother, Christopher Omoregie, who is serving a life sentence for murder.

The rapper's album, Psychodrama, was inspired by the therapy Christopher is receiving in prison, in which offenders role-play events from their past to help with rehabilitation.

Flags flew at half mast on UK government buildings today, as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives or were injured and all others affected by the attack on London Bridge.

Image source, Hollie Adams/PA Wire

Image source, Hollie Adams/PA Wire

Image source, Hollie Adams/PA Wire

Jack Merritt, named today as having been killed in the attack, studied for a bachelor's degree in law at the University of Manchester.

Graduating in 2016, the 25-year-old went on to study at the University of Cambridge.

There, he worked in the criminology department running Learning Together, the prison rehabilitation programme which terrorist Usman Khan had been involved with.

Former programme participants, including Khan, had been invited to take part in a conference to mark the programme's fifth anniversary at Fishmongers' Hall.

A vigil was held in Cambridge on Saturday to mark the incident.

As we mentioned earlier, Jack Merritt - who has been named as one of the victims of the attack - appeared on a BBC podcast in March talking about his work helping inmates at Warren Hill prison in Suffolk to study law.

The University of Cambridge graduate was a course coordinator for Learning Together, a prisoners' rehabilitation programme.

He told the BBC's Law in Action: "Our students in prison often have a very first-hand, very real but also very nuanced, idea of how the law works and also they have a very good sense of where there is a lack in information, where there is a lack in knowledge, and they really do know which areas of the law could do with clarification.

"And a lot of the time these are areas that they have seen people go through the prison system not understanding and they want to do research which will help people."

You can listen to him here (he features at 18:05).

People will see "enhanced police patrols across London of both armed and unarmed officers", Mr Basu says.

He urges members of the public to continue with their plans as usual, and to be "vigilant but be alert, not alarmed".

He offers his "heartfelt thoughts and condolences to all those families, both deceased and who still remain in hospital, and everyone affected by this tragedy".

You can find Mr Basu's full statement here, external.

Turning to updates on the attacker, Mr Basu says police believe Khan was wearing the hoax explosive vest while attending the prisoner rehabilitation conference at Fishmongers' Hall.

He said: "We know this attacker was attending an event called Learning Together and some of those present confronted this attacker to try and stop him."

Responding to a question from a reporter, Mr Basu adds "From start to finish this incident took very few minutes and yes, we believe he was wearing the vest at the time."

Mr Basu says he knows one of the victims has been named online and in the media - as Cambridge university graduate Jack Merritt - but that the Met is still awaiting formal identification from the coroner.

The head of the Metropolitan Police, Commissioner Cressida Dick praises public response to London terror attack.

Mr Basu said the public has shared "nearly 500 images and videos with the investigation team so far, and I am incredibly grateful".

He continued to appeal to anyone who was at Fishmongers' Hall, where the attack began, on Friday to contact the police.

The Met has said people can contact them in confidence on 0800 789 321.

Usman Khan was subject to an "extensive list of licence conditions" on his release from prison, Mr Basu says, and "to the best of my knowledge he was complying with those conditions".

Earlier, University of Cambridge graduate Jack Merritt was named as one of the victims of Friday's London Bridge attack.

Mr Merritt’s father David described his son as “a beautiful spirit who always took the side of the underdog”.

In a now-deleted Twitter post, reported by the Telegraph,, external he wrote: “My son, Jack, who was killed in this attack, would not wish his death to be used as the pretext for more draconian sentences or for detaining people unnecessarily.

“Jack spoke so highly of all the people he worked with and he loved his job.”

Mr Merritt was a course coordinator for Learning Together, a prisoners' rehabilitation programme, and earlier this year he spoke on a BBC podcast about his work helping inmates at Warren Hill prison in Suffolk to study law.