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Police and MI5 blamed for 2019 Fishmongers' Hall terrorism attack

Saturday, 29 May 2021 5:10 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 29 May 2021 5:16 PM ]

Convicted terrorist Usman Khan travelling to the site of his attack on November 29, 2019

An inquest into the deaths of two Cambridge graduates in the Fishmongers' Hall terrorism incident has concluded that “unacceptable management” by MI5, the police and probation service had materially contributed to the killings.

The jury at the Guildhall ruled that convicted terrorist Usman Khan had “unlawfully killed” Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25, at the rehabilitation event at Fishmongers’ Hall in London in November 2019.

Khan had been given an indeterminate prison sentence in 2012 (which was later changed to a 16-year term) for terrorism-related offences, of which he served eight years.

He was shot dead by armed police on London Bridge after killing Jones and Merritt, in addition to wounding three other people.

In addition to identifying “unacceptable management” of Khan by state agencies following his release from prison in December 2018, the Jurors also found there had been a “lack of accountability” in the multi-agency oversight of the convicted terrorist.

Jurors appeared to be incensed by the fact that Khan had been allowed to travel on his own to London from his home town of Stafford on the day of the attack on November 29, 2019.

It emerged during the inquest that MI5 had launched a new covert investigation into Khan while he was still in prison after intelligence was received that he was planning a post-release terrorist attack.

But most damningly of all, that key piece of intelligence was neither shared with Khan’s probation officer nor the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) panel that was supposed to manage the convicted terrorist in the community.

On a more farcical note, MAPPA was not aware that Khan was being actively investigated by MI5, even though an MI5 officer was covertly attending the panel’s meetings.