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Fishmongers' Hall attack: Prison boss tricked by Usman Khan, inquest hears

Met Police Usman Khan tubeMet Police
Usman Khan, pictured on the day of the attack, travelled from Stafford in the West Midlands for the charity event at Fishmongers' Hall

The Fishmongers' Hall attacker duped a prison boss over why he was wearing a bulky coat, an inquest jury heard.

Convicted terrorist Usman Khan had a brief conversation with HMP Whitemoor's counter-terrorism head Steve Machin at a prisoner education event in central London on 29 November 2019.

Khan said he was wearing the large coat - which concealed a fake suicide belt - because of the weather.

He later killed Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones before being shot dead by police.

Inquest jurors at London's Guildhall heard in the days before Khan's deadly attack the 28-year-old had bought items including the black coat he wore to the conference.

Met Police Saskia Jones and Jack MerrittMet Police
Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt were killed by Usman Khan at the conference on offender rehabilitation

Nick Armstrong, representing the family of Mr Merritt, 25, who was a guest at the event, asked: "Why don't you pick up the fact he's wearing the coat?"

Mr Machin replied: "He provided a backstory and it sort of made sense. I could see below the coat was a base layer.

"He said when he checked the weather he was expecting a cold day. He said: 'I don't want this being my outer top.'"

Met Police Usman Khan in TK MaxxMet Police
Jurors heard Khan bought the coat he wore to Fishmongers' Hall the day before the attack

Mr Armstrong suggested Mr Machin had dropped his guard, despite being faced with warning signs about Khan's appearance.

Mr Machin said: "I'm not in the same headspace as when I'm at work - I wasn't there as a counter-terrorism governor, I was there as operational manager of HMP Whitemoor."

Georgina Butler, head of learning and skills at Whitemoor, was sitting with Mr Machin, Khan and Ms Jones in Fishmongers' Hall.

'A bit peculiar'

Jurors heard she had asked after Khan's family and found him "fairly chatty".

She said: "I remember seeing Usman in a puffer jacket and thinking it a bit peculiar.

"Obviously a lot more comes to light when you reflect afterwards. I remember seeing a base layer top. I remember thinking he wore the wrong clothes, it looked too tight."

The inquest jury previously saw images of Khan wearing the coat at the Learning Together event.

He took it off once, but wrapped it around his waist to conceal the fake suicide belt, the court heard.

Khan stabbed and killed Mr Merritt and Ms Jones, 23, and injured three other people, before being chased and disarmed on London Bridge by three men armed with a fire extinguisher and a narwhal tusk.

He was then killed by police.

The inquest hearing continues.