Fishmongers' Hall: Jury retires into terror attack deaths
- Published
Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt were killed by Usman Khan at the conference on offender rehabilitation
An inquest jury has retired to consider whether any "omission or failure" contributed to the deaths of two people stabbed to death by a convicted terrorist in central London.
Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, were killed by Usman Khan at an alumni event in Fishmongers' Hall in November 2019.
On Thursday Coroner Mark Lucraft QC summed up six weeks' worth of evidence.
Jurors heard from witnesses and first-hand accounts of the fatal attack.
The coroner told jurors to complete a questionnaire where the jury were directed by the coroner to find the victims were killed unlawfully.
Khan recorded a video for Learning Together months before launching the attack
A second question deals with the basic facts surrounding their deaths and whether any "omission or failure" prior to the attack contributed to the victims' deaths.
The final question focused on security measures for the Fishmongers' Hall event and its organisation.
Previously, the inquest heard how Khan, 28, from Stafford, spent eight years in jail for plotting to set up a terror training camp in Pakistan.
He was released into the community 11 months before the attack under strict licence conditions.
Jurors heard Khan bought the coat he wore to Fishmongers' Hall the day before the attack
Throughout that time he was managed by probation officers and subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).
He was also being covertly investigated by MI5 and police, jurors have heard.
The inquest has heard that Khan was allowed to attend the Fishmongers' Hall event unaccompanied, despite signs he was becoming increasingly isolated and had failed to find employment.
Khan travelled to London by train and is believed to have put on a fake suicide vest under his bulky jacket on the way.
He strapped two knives to his hands in the toilets at the venue then fatally stabbed Ms Jones and Mr Merritt and injured three others.
He was forced on to London Bridge by delegates armed with makeshift weapons and shot dead by police.
The inquests continue.