Fishmongers' Hall: Killer's family 'truly sorry' about attack

The brother of Fishmongers' Hall attacker Usman Khan has apologised to the families of those who were killed by the terrorist in November 2019.

Cambridge graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, were stabbed at a prisoner education event in central London.

An inquest heard staff at HMP Whitemoor suspected Khan was "pretending to comply" with rehabilitation work.

He also tried to hug the jail's head of counter terrorism before the attack.

Khan's brother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons and is the only member of the killer's family giving evidence, said: "We totally condemn his actions. Totally condemn."

He said that he and his family were unaware of Khan's plans.

Nick Armstrong, barrister for the family of Mr Merritt and referring to a newspaper article that pictured Khan with extremist literature, told the witness that despite his claims that his brother "'kept everything to himself', he was literally standing in the street waving a flag".

He said Khan was a "nasty violent, self-regarding piece of work, and all the signs of that were there from childhood," and accused the killer's family of "looking away".

The court also heard that Khan tried to hug Steve Machin - the head of counter terrorism from HMP Whitemoor - who was at the event, less than three hours before the attack.

Mr Machin, who thought it was "odd", instead offered the killer a shoulder bump.

Khan, who had been in prison for planning a terrorist training camp, had been released in December 2018, less than a year before the attack.

The court was previously told Khan was an "influential" inmate who associated with other high-profile terrorists, including Fusilier Lee Rigby's killer.

He had engaged with prisoner education programme Learning Together while in jail. An intelligence report made in the summer of 2018 indicated Khan "may be behaving in a deceptively compliant manner in order to facilitate his release."

He travelled to London from his home to attend a five-year celebration event at its request on 29 November 2019.

Asked if he had reflected on his dealings with Khan, Mr Machin said: "It's all I've done since - as a human being it's hard not to."

After attacking Mr Merritt and Ms Jones, Khan was pursued to nearby London Bridge by three bystanders, armed with a fire extinguisher and a narwhal tusk in an attempt to disarm him.

Khan was then shot by police.

The inquest into the deaths of Mr Merritt and Ms Jones continues.