Headlines
London Bridge attack victim is 25-year-old Cambridge University graduate

- Described as ‘beautiful spirit’ by his father
One of the people stabbed to death in Friday’s attack at London Bridge has been named as 25-year-old University of Cambridge graduate Jack Merritt.
He was one of two people killed when 28-year-old Usman Khan launched the attack at a Cambridge University conference on prisoner rehabilitation.
Khan, who had been jailed over a terror plot, was shot dead by police after members of the public restrained him.
Mr Merritt was described by his father on Twitter as a “beautiful spirit”.
A woman who died in the attack – declared by officers as a terrorist incident – has not yet been named. Three others were injured.
Mr Merritt, from Cambridge, was a course coordinator for Learning Together, a prisoners’ rehabilitation programme which was hosting the conference at Fishmongers’ Hall, at the north end of London Bridge.
Khan had taken part in the scheme while in prison and was one of dozens of people – including students and offenders – at the event.
David Merritt said on Twitter that his son Jack was a “a beautiful spirit who always took the side of the underdog”.
“Jack spoke so highly of all the people he worked with & he loved his job,” he added.
Mr Merritt graduated from the University of Manchester with a bachelor’s degree in law in 2016.
He went on to study at the University of Cambridge, where he worked in the criminology department running Learning Together.
The Metropolitan Police said the attack is believed to have started inside Fishmongers’ Hall at 13:58 GMT on Friday, before continuing onto London Bridge itself, where Khan was shot by armed officers.
London Bridge: Police name attacker as Usman Khan
Khan was known to the authorities, having been convicted of a terrorism offence in 2012.
He was released from prison half way through his 16-year sentence in December 2018 – subject to an “extensive list of licence conditions”, Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said.
Mr Basu said, on Saturday, that “to the best of my knowledge, he was complying with those conditions.”
Khan took part in Learning Together while at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire.
He appeared as a “case study” in a report by the initiative. Identified only as “Usman”, Khan was said to have given a speech at a fundraising dinner after being released from prison.
He was also given a “secure” laptop that complied with his licence conditions, to allow him 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, adding: “I cannot send enough thanks to the entire Learning Together team and all those who continue to support this wonderful community.”
Mr Basu said officers had been working “flat out” to try to establish the “full circumstances” of the stabbing.
He praised the “incredible acts of bravery” by members of the emergency services and the public who intervened – even after they realised Khan was wearing a “very convincing” fake explosive vest.
Mr Basu added officers had found no evidence to suggest anyone else was involved in the attack.
NHS chief executive Simon Stevens said three victims remained in hospital following the attack – two in a stable condition and one with less serious injuries.
Police carried out searches at two addresses in Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent as part of the investigation.
Staffordshire Police’s Deputy Ch Con, Nick Baker, said it was “vitally important everyone remains alert but not alarmed”.
Members of the public were widely praised for intervening to tackle Khan to the ground before police arrived on the scene.
One man pictured in many newspapers, as he removed a knife from the scene, was a British Transport Police officer in plain clothes.
Chief Constable Paul Crowther, of British Transport Police, said his officer “bravely ran towards danger”.
“He, as well as other members of the public, should be extremely proud of what they did to stop this man on London Bridge,” he added.