Possible ISIS Attacks in UK and Hague

[Anthea]

London Bridge terrorist attack

What happened in London Bridge incident?

Two members of the public have died in a stabbing attack at London Bridge, in which police shot dead the suspect.

A further three were injured in the attack - declared a terrorist incident - and are being treated in hospital.

The suspect, who died at the scene, was wearing what is believed to have been a hoax explosive device, police said.

Videos on social media appear to show passers-by holding down a man. An officer arrives, seems to indicate to the group to move, and fires a shot.

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said the attack began at Fishmonger's Hall on London Bridge, with police called to the incident just before 14:00.

BBC journalist John McManus, who was at the scene as it unfolded, said he had seen a struggle on the bridge, with several men restraining one man. Police then arrived quickly and a number of shots were fired at him, he said.

In footage shared on social media, the man could be seen being pinned down by members of the public.

Another man in a suit could be seen running from him, having apparently retrieved a large knife.

Earlier, Neil Basu, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, told a press conference: "A male suspect was shot by specialist armed officers from City of London police and I can confirm that this suspect died at the scene."

He added that a "wide cordon remains in place" following the incident.

Mr Basu said: "Officers continue to carry out extensive searches in the area to ensure there is no further threat to the public."

Analysis box by Gordon Corera, security correspondent

There was no intelligence of anything about to happen, sources say, and police reacted to events as they unfolded.

At the start of this month, the UK threat level was lowered from severe to substantial - reflecting an assessment from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre that an attack was likely rather than highly likely because of a relative decline in activity.

The challenge for police and security services is that low-tech attacks - involving knives or vehicles - and often carried out by lone actors can be hard to spot in advance since they involve relatively little preparation and communication.

But in the wake of previous incidents in both the UK and other countries, police have been prepared for this kind of incident and seem to have been fast to intervene, taking few chances, although members of the public were also involved in restraining the individual.

The priority for police and MI5 now will be establishing the identity of the individual, whether he had any links or associations and whether there is any ongoing related threat.

The man was wearing what is believed to be a hoax explosive device, Mr Basu said.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said attackers wear fake suicide vests for a couple of reasons: To add to public panic and in some cases to ensure police shoot them dead.

To some attackers, martyrdom is preferable to capture, trial and spending many years in prison, our correspondent added.

Mr Basu said the force would have extra police patrols across the capital.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who returned to Downing Street from his constituency, said the emergency services and members of the public who intervened "represent the very best of our country".

He said: "This country will never be cowed or divided or intimidated by this sort of attack and our values, our British values, will prevail."

The prime minister will convene a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee at 21:30.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan thanked the members of the public who showed "breathtaking heroism" in running towards danger - "not knowing what confronted them".

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it has begun a mandatory investigation into the shooting.

London Bridge station and Tube has now reopened after it was earlier closed, Network Rail said.

But trains may continue to be delayed, cancelled or revised while services are reinstated, it added.

Both the Conservatives and Labour say they have suspended election campaigning for the night following the attack.

'Get off and run'

Witnesses have spoken to the BBC about what they saw.

Amanda Hunter, who was on a bus on London Bridge at the time, said: "All of a sudden [it] stopped and there was some commotion and I looked out the window and I just saw these three police officers going over to a man…

"It seemed like there was something in his hand, I'm not 100% sure. But then one of the police officers shot him."

Bus driver Mustafa Salih, 62, was travelling from Borough High Street towards London Bridge where he saw emergency vehicles and the police cordon.

He told BBC London: "A police officer came up to me and said 'turn off your engine, get off and run'.

"I looked up and I could see a crowd of people coming towards me.

"One woman was crying. I ran back down to Borough High Street. It was all very scary as we did not know what was happening."

London Bridge was the scene of another attack, on 3 June 2017, in which eight people were killed and many more injured.

This latest attack comes after the UK's terrorism threat level was downgraded on 4 November from "severe" to "substantial", meaning that attacks were thought to be "likely" rather than "highly likely".

The terror threat level is reviewed every six months by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which makes recommendations independent of government.

Link to Article - Photos - Videos:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50604781

[Anthea]

The Hague stabbing:

Several hurt in attack at department store

At least three people have been stabbed in an attack at a department store in a busy shopping street in The Hague, Dutch police say.

Police are searching for a man aged between 45 and 50, wearing a grey jogging tracksuit, who they believe may be behind the attack.

Images on social media showed emergency services at the scene amid crowds of Black Friday shoppers.

The condition of those injured and the motive for the attack remain unclear.

The incident happened at the Hudson's Bay store in the city's Grote Markt or main market square area, local reports say.

Video posted to social media showed dozens of shoppers running in the busy shopping street.

Police have urged the public to contact them if they witnessed the attack or see anyone matching the description of the suspect.

They also requested that anyone with images or footage of the incident send it to police.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50609528

[Anthea]

London Bridge terrorist attack

Two people were killed and three more were injured in a terrorist attack near London Bridge on Friday, police have confirmed. The suspect was wrestled to the ground by passersby and shot dead by officers

The suspect, who police say was wearing a fake suicide vest, was killed after emergency services were called to a stabbing incident at premises near the bridge shortly before 2pm on Friday.

The incident played out in extraordinary scenes that prompted praise for the bravery of members of the public and police. In footage captured by bystanders, civilians are seen wrestling with a person lying on the ground at the northern end of the bridge, before being pulled to safety by armed police arriving at the scene.

The suspect, dressed in black, then appeared to try to rise, before firearms officers fired two shots. One man wearing a suit appeared to have removed a large knife from the suspect before the shots were fired, and was filmed running down the road away from the scene gesturing at others to get back.

Police confirmed the suspect died at the scene. It is believed that he was acting alone. In a statement on Friday night, the Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick said the attack from start to finish lasted five minutes. Police were called to a report of stabbings at Fishmongers’ Hall, just by the northern end of London Bridge at 1.58pm, with armed officers, helped by members of the public, confronting the suspect by 2.03pm.

She declined to say whether or not the suspect was known to counter-terrorism investigators prior to the attack.

The casualties were taken to the Royal London hospital in Whitechapel, one of the capital’s four designated major trauma centres. NHS England said on Friday night that one of the three injured was critical but stable, a second was stable and a third had suffered less serious injuries.

Boris Johnson, who returned to Downing Street from his constituency, said the emergency services and members of the public who intervened “represent the very best of our country”.

The prime minister said: “This country will never be cowed or divided or intimidated by this sort of attack and our values, our British values, will prevail.”

Downing Street said the prime minister would chair a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee, known as Cobra, on Friday evening. Political parties said they would be suspending campaigning for the general election.

The incident, the first deadly attack in the UK since 2017, came just three weeks after the national terrorist threat level was lowered from “severe” to “substantial”.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said later that no one else was being sought over the incident.

Due to initial reports that the suspect might have had an explosive device, wide cordons were in place to ensure there was no further danger to the public, Neil Basu, the Met’s assistant commissioner, said.

The incident, which sparked panicked scenes as crowds ran from the bridge and took shelter in nearby buildings, had echoes of the terrorist attack on the bridge in June 2017, in which eight people died excluding the attackers.

On that occasion, terrorists drove a van into crowds crossing the bridge before attacking others with knives there and in neighbouring pubs and restaurants. Police shot three Islamist terrorists dead and they were found to be wearing fake suicide vests.

'Then the police officer shot him': witnesses describe London Bridge attack

One witness who was on a bus going over the bridge said she thought she saw a “stab vest or some sort of explosive vest” worn by the person lying on the bridge.

Karen Bosch, who was on a bus with her baby travelling along the bridge, told the Guardian: “We were coming southbound on the number 21. We had stopped at a bus stop and were pulling away when I noticed people running into and across the road. We saw people tussling or fighting, I thought there was a fight or a stabbing.

“Then the bus stopped and it was clear there were three police with guns struggling with one man, a tall man who had a dark jacket and beard. The next thing I saw was the man with the beard lying on ground and I heard two pops or shots. A spent Taser was also lying on the ground.”

Bosch said she moved to a safer place on the bus. “We were on the other side of the carriageway but there was nothing between us and what was going on.

“The guy on the floor opened his jacket and police backed away really fast. I thought maybe it was a bomb vest and if that went off, we were so close. I was so worried about my baby.”

Yahoo News quoted one woman who said she had witnessed the incident from inside Fishmongers’ Hall, a conference and events venue at the northern end of the bridge.

The woman, who gave her name as Coralie, said: “I was in the building when I heard the screams and one girl ran towards me because she got stabbed in her arm and everyone inside the conference started to panic.”

The building was hosting an event marking the fifth anniversary of Learning Together, a Cambridge University project bringing together people in criminal justice and higher education institutions.

Cars and buses on the busy bridge were at a standstill, with a white lorry stopped diagonally across the lanes. Video footage showed police pointing guns at the lorry before moving to check its container.

The shooting of the suspect will now be investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. By law, it has to examine all police shootings.

Johnson thanked the emergency services and members of the public, and said in a tweet: “This is an appalling incident and all my thoughts are with the victims and their families.” He returned to central London from his constituency to be personally briefed by Basu and the Met commissioner, Cressida Dick.

Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: “Shocking reports from London Bridge. My thoughts are with those caught up in the incident. Thank you to the police and emergency services who are responding.”

One woman from New York, who gave her name only as Aditi, said she had hidden in the attic of a cheese shop in nearby Borough Market when she noticed people running from the bridge.

“We ran down a side street and noticed people running into Neal’s Yard Dairy,” she told the Guardian. “We were one of the last to get in before they locked the door. We were taken to the attic and the staff said they had been trained for such an incident. We were there for around 30 minutes before the police gave clearance to exit and move further away from the market. My partner and I are rattled but OK. We’re just glad to be safe.”

Another woman called Jo from east London said she had been in the market when people started to panic and run. “I saw two people fall over. The police then told people to get inside, so we sheltered in Le Pain Quotidien. They locked the doors and moved people away from the glass.”

More than 20 witnesses were taken to be debriefed at the police-allocated building near the incident. Some of them looked shaken as they entered the building.Link to Article - Photos - Videos:

More arrived in marked and unmarked police vehicles as the afternoon wore on, including restaurant and transport workers. None were willing to talk to reporters.

Link to Article - Photos - Videos:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... ve-injured

[Anthea]

London Bridge attacker
had terror conviction

The man who carried out the stabbing attack at London Bridge was a former prisoner convicted of a terrorism offence

The attacker was out of prison on licence at the time of the attack, in which two people were killed and three were injured, sources said.

The man was shot dead by officers after members of the public confronted and restrained him.

Police have declared the attack a terrorist incident

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick told a press conference the attack began at Fishmongers' Hall, at the north end of the bridge, where a criminal justice event was taking place.

Dozens of people were in attendance at the event, including students from Cambridge University and former prisoners.

The university said it was "gravely concerned" about reports of its students and staff being caught up in the attack and was urgently seeking further information.

Ms Dick said officers confronted the suspect - who was found to be wearing what is believed to be a hoax explosive device - within five minutes of receiving the initial call.

She said police were working at "full tilt" to understand what had happened and whether anyone else was involved.

Officers were still working to identify the dead, she said.

Of the injured people, one is in a critical but stable condition, a second is stable and a third has less serious injuries, the head of the NHS, Simon Stevens said.

Details of what happened are still emerging, but videos on social media appear to show passers-by holding down the suspect on London Bridge.

Another man in a suit could be seen running from him, having apparently retrieved a large knife.

Footage then shows an officer arriving, seeming to indicate to the group to move, and firing a shot.

One witness described how a man at the event at Fishmongers' Hall grabbed a narwhal tusk - a long white horn that protrudes from the porpoise - that was on the wall, and went outside to confront the attacker.

The actions of the public have been widely praised, including by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Ms Dick, who said they had shown "extreme courage".

She added: "Ours is a great city because we embrace each other's differences.

"We must emerge stronger still from this tragedy. In doing that we will ensure that the few who seek to divide us will never, ever succeed."

As details emerge about the suspected attacker, the more this looks like it was a targeted incident rather than the random attack on members of the public seen two years earlier at London Bridge.

Authorities were able to identify him quickly after it took place. Their priority since has been to understand what motivated him, whether he had any wider help and if there is anything that poses a residual threat.

There was no advance warning or intelligence of an attack but the details of the man and his past may well raise questions about whether enough has been done to monitor and understand the risks posed by former prisoners.

Earlier, Neil Basu, head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said the suspect was wearing what is believed to be a hoax explosive device.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said attackers wear fake suicide vests for a couple of reasons: To add to public panic and in some cases to ensure police shoot them dead.

To some attackers, martyrdom is preferable to capture, trial and spending many years in prison, our correspondent added.

Police have said cordons will remain in place and extra police patrols will be held across the capital.

The prime minister, who has returned to Downing Street from his constituency, has been convening a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee.

He did not talk about the identity of the attacker, but said he had "long argued that it is a mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out of prison early".

Mr Johnson added that the emergency services and members of the public who intervened "represent the very best of our country".

"This country will never be cowed or divided or intimidated by this sort of attack and our values, our British values, will prevail," Mr Johnson added.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan thanked the members of the public who showed "breathtaking heroism" in running towards danger - "not knowing what confronted them".

"Our country will never be divided or intimidated...our values will prevail"

Witnesses have spoken to the BBC about what they saw.

Amanda Hunter, who was on a bus on London Bridge at the time, said: "All of a sudden [it] stopped and there was some commotion and I looked out the window and I just saw these three police officers going over to a man…

"It seemed like there was something in his hand, I'm not 100% sure. But then one of the police officers shot him."

Bus driver Mustafa Salih, 62, was travelling from Borough High Street towards London Bridge where he saw emergency vehicles and the police cordon.

He told BBC London: "A police officer came up to me and said 'turn off your engine, get off and run'.

"I looked up and I could see a crowd of people coming towards me.

"One woman was crying. I ran back down to Borough High Street. It was all very scary as we did not know what was happening."

More from witnesses at the scene

London Bridge was the scene of another attack, on 3 June 2017, in which eight people were killed and many more injured.

This latest attack comes after the UK's terrorism threat level was downgraded on 4 November from "severe" to "substantial", meaning that attacks were thought to be "likely" rather than "highly likely".

The terror threat level is reviewed every six months by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which makes recommendations independent of government.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50610215

[Anthea]

London Bridge knife attacker was 'known to police and had connections to Islamist terror groups'

Suspect, who was wearing fake suicide vest, "recently released from jail"

He was "attending Cambridge Uni prisoner rehabilitation conference" when incident unfolded

PM: "It's a mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out of prison early"

The knife-wielding terrorist who killed two people before being shot dead by police was known to authorities and had connection to Islamist terror groups, a security source has said.

The attacker, who was wearing a fake suicide vest and has not been named, was killed on London Bridge on Friday afternoon in full view of horrified onlookers.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the deaths were heartbreaking and hinted the suspect had previously been convicted of terror offences.

According to The Times, the attacker had been released from jail after he agreed to be monitored by authorities.

The paper said he was attending a Cambridge University conference on prisoner rehabilitation being held at Fishmongers' Hall in the City of London and "threatened to blow up" the building.

A security source confirmed to the PA news agency he was known to police and had connections to Islamist terror groups.

How many other such known ISIS supporters are being released into the community?

[Anthea]

London Bridge killer, 28, was jailed for eight years in 2012 for plotting to BOMB the London Stock Exchange and build an Islamic terror training camp

JAILED FOR ONLY 8 YEARS

but was RELEASED last year and had an ankle tag on when he stabbed two people to death yesterday

The Met Police have named the London Bridge terrorist as Usman Khan 28

The knife-wielding terrorist had been released from prison in December 2018

He was jailed for a minimum of eight years having been convicted of terrorism

Police have raided an address in Staffordshire linked to the slain terrorist

He should have had Life Imprisonment

[Anthea]

ROOT OF EVIL

How London Bridge terrorist was linked to notorious hate preacher Anjem Choudary before knife rampage & bomb plot

THE London Bridge terrorist was a student of hate preacher Anjem Choudary before he was caged for plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange, it has emerged.

Police said he was "known to authorities" after he was convicted in 2012 for terror offences and freed last December.

Choudary's private mobile number was found on Khan's phone at the time of his arrest, the Henry Jackson Society has found.

Khan was one of the al-Muhajiroun connected terrorists who were released starting in 2018.

Choudary had started regrouping to come out "harder than before", a former member of his group al-Muhajiroun told the New York Times in May.

He founded and led the notorious now-banned UK terror network before it was renamed Islam4UK.

Dr Paul Stott, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, today told The Daily Telegraph that"all these years later, and Anjem Choudary’s one-time acolytes are still butchering members of the public on our streets".

He added that 25 per cent of all Islamist terrorists have some sort of "link to Choudary ".

TERROR LINKS

Dr Scott said the "security services must consider immediately recalling Choudary to prison until the threat posed by him and his affiliates has stabilised".

Choudary was jailed for five-and-a-half years in 2016 after making speeches urging Muslims to support ISIS.

He was freed from Belmarsh Prison on October 2018 - after serving just half of his sentence.

The hate preacher and his sidekick Mohammad Mizanur Rahman were convicted after they signed an oath of allegiance to the terror group after it declared an Islamic Caliphate in July 2014.

They also recorded speeches uploaded onto YouTube in which Choudary called for Islam to achieve “world domination” with the black flag flying from Downing Street and the White House and for “kuffar” non-believers to be executed.

At the time of his sentencing, the hate preacher had been linked to 15 terror plots over 20 years and had connections with hundreds of British jihadists who had gone to fight in Syria.

Choudary was released on licence and is banned from leaving London.

He was last snapped in May leaving his East London home.



'SERIOUS JIHADIST'

Khan was known to attend al-Muhajiroun events such as "poppy-burning" and "dawah stalls" in the Midlands.

He was originally from Tunstall and was was arrested in 2010 in a major counter-terrorism operation.

Khan was jailed as part of a nine-man terror group who plotted to bomb the London Stock Exchange and build a terrorist training camp in Kashmir.

The men were inspired by al-Qaeda and had been under surveillance by MI5.

Six of the nine plotters jailed were personally taught by Choudary, The Daily Telegraph reported in 2016.

The BBC reported in 2012 how Khan and two other plotters were frustrated with Choudary and decided they would do their own thing.

Mr Justice Wilkie, the judge in the case, said the group's actions showed a "serious, long-term venture into terrorism" and could have resulted atrocities across the UK.

The judge branded Khan and two plotters as "the more serious jihadists" of the group.

He was sentenced in 2012 to indeterminate detention for "public protection" with a minimum jail term of eight years, which would have allowed him to be kept behind bars longer.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10456386/ ... -choudary/

[Anthea]

Anjem Choudary should be locked up in ISOLATION for the rest of his life

Many of UK Mosques are controlled by radical, would be, Islamic terrorists who are spreading their views among the once mild mannered Muslims

Management of these Mosques are often in fear of the terror networks operating within their Mosques

The increase in Sharia Law is terrifying with it's increasing suppression of women

Sharia Law UK

Sharia law in UK is now in penetration phase 4. UK now has over 3,000 mosques and converting empty church buildings into mosques has become one of UK's cottage industries.

UK formally recognized Sharia law court in 2008 and the Archbishop of Canterbury - the head of Church of England - conceded that adopting elements of the Sharia law into UK's court system was "unavoidable."

Today, UK has over 130 Sharia law courts. Although they technically lie within the UK's Tribunal Court system, these Sharia courts have been issuing rulings that contradict UK's common law.

In 2011, UK's Muslims began demanding that Sharia law replace British common law and become the only law in towns with large Muslim populations, including Birmingham, Bradford, Derby, Dewsbury, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Sheffield, Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets, an East London Muslim enclave whose streets are already plastered with posters declaring:

You are entering a Sharia controlled zone: Islamic rules enforced and where Muslim imams have issued death threats to women who refuse to wear the Hijab

Sixty-two percent of UK's Muslim men and 79% of UK's Muslim women do not work and instead live on government support today, and Muslims comprise one-third of Britain's high security prison inmate population.

To woo more upscale Muslims, most of London's financial institutions have become Sharia-compliant, which requires donating a portion of their profits to Muslim organizations designated by their Sharia-compliance advisors. When he was Prime Minister, Gordon Brown declared that he wants London to become the Islamic finance capital of the world.

His successor, David Cameron more soberly opined in 2011 that “multiculturalism has been a failure” and has promoted Islamic extremism across Europe. He admitted that the West has been “cautious, frankly even fearful” of standing up to it, and concluded:

“We have even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values. This hands-off tolerance has only served to reinforce the sense that not enough is shared... What we see - and what we see in so many European countries - is a process of radicalization.”

Two years later in 2013, however, Cameron bowed to pressure from the banks and announced that Britain will become the first non-Muslim nation to issue Sharia-compliant Islamic bonds, even declaring at the World Economic Islamic Forum:

"I don't just want London to be a great capital of Islamic finance in the Western world, I want London to stand alongside Dubai as one of the great capitals of Islamic finance anywhere in the world."

In 2014, the British government bowed to pressure from groups linked with the Muslim Brotherhood and started requiring all British school children to complete a unit on the history of Islam, the "Religion of Peace." The same year, 1,400 young, white, mostly 12 to 14 year-old-girls were discovered to have been raped by Muslim men in Rotherham.

In 2016, a Muslim became the mayor of London, where 40% of UK's Muslims live. Today, the mayors of Birmingham, Blackburn, Leeds, Luton, Oxford, Sheffield and a growing number of UK towns are also Muslims, while 100% of the meat served in UK schools is Halal meat that have been sacrificed to the moon god Allah.

Both Halal Meat and Sharia Law must be banned in the UK

[Anthea]

ISIS claim responsibility

ISIS has tonight claimed the London Bridge terror attack was carried out by one of its fighters

The terrorist organisation said Usman Khan, 28, who killed two and injured several more when he went on a knife rampage in central London yesterday, acted on their behalf.

The group, however, did not provide any evidence this is the case as it made the claim through its news agency.

It added that the attack was made in response to Islamic State calls to target countries that have been part of a coalition fighting the jihadist group.

'The person who carried out the London attack... was a fighter from the Islamic State, and did so in response to calls to target citizens of coalition countries,' IS said, referring to a multi-country alliance against the group.

It had previously been speculated that the attack may have been revenge for the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Khan was shot and killed by armed police after he stabbed two people to death and wounded three others while wearing a fake suicide vest on London Bridge.

The attacker, who was jailed in 2012 for his role in an al Qaeda-inspired terror group that plotted to bomb the London Stock Exchange, had first been tackled and disarmed by a group of brave bystanders on the bridge.

Jack Merritt, 25, from Cottenham, was today named by his father as one of two victims killed by Khan at a prisoner rehabilitation conference at Fishmongers' Hall, where the attack began yesterday afternoon.

ISIS has tonight claimed responsibility for a terror attack in which Usman Khan stabbed Cambridge graduate Jack Merritt and several others in a knife rampage near London Bridge

Jack was the course co-ordinator for Learning Together, the education scheme run by the University of Cambridge's Institute of Criminology where Uzman Khan had been yesterday afternoon

Mr Merritt was the course co-ordinator for Learning Together, an education scheme run by the University of Cambridge's Institute of Criminology that killer Khan had attended on Friday.

The group had been hosting a conference at the Grade II-listed building when the attack began, with Khan one of the former criminals attending the rehabilitation seminar for prisoners.

Mr Merritt's father David said in a tweet that his son 'would not wish his death to be used as the pretext for more draconian sentences or for detaining people unnecessarily'.

'R.I.P. Jack: you were a beautiful spirit who always took the side of the underdog.'

He also said his son had been a 'champion' for those who had been 'dealt a losing hand by life, who ended up in the prison system'.

Giving a statement outside Scotland Yard, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said Khan was subject to an 'extensive list of licence conditions' on his release from prison and that 'to the best of my knowledge he was complying with those conditions'.

Jack studied law at Manchester University before doing an postgraduate degree at Cambridge

David said: 'Jack spoke so highly of all the people he worked with & he loved his job.

'Thank you for your support. I know his colleagues are in shock- please look after each other at this terrible time.'

British rapper David Orobosa Omoregie, known only as Dave, also paid tribute to the graduate on Twitter. He wrote: 'Rest in peace brother. One of the most painful things. Jack Merritt was the best guy.

'Dedicated his life to helping others, was genuinely an honour to have met someone like you and everything you've done for us I'll never ever forget'.

Jack studied law at Manchester University before doing an postgraduate degree at Cambridge.

A woman was also killed and three others were injured in the knife rampage carried out by Usman Khan.

Police were called to the north side of London Bridge at 1.58pm on Friday, after reports of a stabbing near Bank station and Fishmongers' Hall, which was hosting an event called 'Learning Together'.

Khan had threatened to blow up the building at the start of the rampage before he headed towards London Bridge wearing a fake suicide vest.

Khan was confronted by several heroic members of the public, including one who used a Narwhal tusk to try and restrain him

The Learning Together Network is a prison-based education initiative with the emphasis on 'being, belonging, becoming'

British rapper David Orobosa Omoregie, known only as Dave, also paid tribute to the graduate on Twitter

Minutes later, witnesses saw the knifeman being wrestled to the ground by members of the public before armed-response officers confronted him at 2.03pm and shot him dead.

Two brave members of the public chased after the knifeman, one armed with a narwhal tusk and another with a fire extinguisher.

Armed police, who confronted the suspect at 2.03pm, were heard shouting 'stop moving' twice before shooting the man at close range.

The workshop run by Jack featured storytelling and creative writing moments before Khan began his attack.

Khan had previously participated in Cambridge University's Learning Together prisoner rehabilitation sessions but had showed 'no cause for concern,' a source with knowledge of the programme said.

The conference was posted on eventbrite and stated that it was 'a day to celebrate, connect and collaborate'.

Workshops included interactive storytelling and creative writing workshops, and a panel discussion was due to take place on 'the power of education for social justice'.

According to the Learning Together schedule of the day, Khan began his terror spree during the storytelling and creative writing session.

Academics and criminal justice campaigners tweeted about the day at the grade II listed building and a photograph was posted online of the gathering.

The Queen today praised the 'brave individuals who put their own lives at risk to selflessly help and protect others' during yesterday's attack. Pictured: Luckasz pointing the tusk at the attacker

Thomas Gray and Stevie Hurst, who both work at Small Car Big City, were two of the heroes who came together to disarm the attacker

The 28-year-old attacker is understood to have been invited to share his experience of prison and wore black clothing and sand-coloured boots, according to The Times.

A witness named Coralie said around 100 guests and 50 staff were in attendance.

Learning Together Five Year Celebration Alumni Event posted the schedule on eventbrite

Khan returned to the hall via the grand staircase after the morning session where he later threatened to blow up the hall, a member of staff said.

He reportedly started 'lashing out' in a room downstairs and was heading upstairs when he was tackled by the other conference-goers and 'bundled out' of the front door past a room of unarmed people.

According to the source, all those involved in tackling Khan, with the exception of the man reported to be a Polish chef, were ex-offenders.

At the time of the incident they were all either on day release, or had been released on licence.

One of the group was James Ford, who admitted the murder of a woman with the mental age of a 15-year-old, in 2014.

Amanda Champion, 21, was strangled and slashed across the throat by Ford in a completely random attack in Ashford, Kent.

Ford was caught after a Samaritans worker broke a vow of anonymity to tell police that a man who had phoned the confidential service 45 times had confessed to killing a woman.

The source said that risk assessment is 'front and centre' in the Learning Together programme, due to the involvement of students.

They added that normal procedures by police and probation service had been undertaken with Khan and he had shown 'no cause for concern' up until the moment of the incident.

Khan was jailed in 2012 for terrorism offences for his part in an al Qaeda-inspired terror group that plotted to bomb the London Stock Exchange and the US Embassy and kill Boris Johnson.

In an old letter from 2012, unveiled today, the terrorist begged to be shown mercy as he asked for a course to be arranged so that Khan could 'properly learn Islam and its teachings, and I can prove I don't carry the extreme views which I might have carried before.'

The letter written by, terror suspect, Usman Khan, 28, in 2012 from Belmarsh Prison, London, whilst in prison for terror offences, in which he requested to be sent on a deradicalisation course, to better understand Islam and show he had changed

Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives at the scene of the stabbing on London Bridge, in which two people were killed yesterday

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, and Home Secretary Priti Patel (together right) joined Boris Johnson at the scene today

He writes: 'I am much more mature and want to live my life as a good Muslim and also a good citizen of Britain.

'So if you could arrange something for me and send me the details, this would be truly appreciated.'

The letter emerged as a furious political row began today after it was revealed that Khan was released automatically from prison last year.

As part of the plotting, Khan's group planned to set up a training camp in Kashmir, where his family had land.

Khan, born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent, originally received an indeterminate sentence for public protection with a minimum of eight years behind bars after his 2012 arrest, meaning he would remain locked up for as long as necessary, to protect the public.

The members of Usman Khan's Al Qaeda-inspired gang who plotted to blow up the London Stock Exchange and kill Boris Johnson. From left to right: Mohammed Moksudur Chowdhury, Mohammed Shahjahan, Shah Mohammed Rahman. Middle row: Mohibur Rahman, Gurukanth Desai, Abdul Malik Miah. Bottom row: Nazam Hussain, Usman Khan, Omar Sharif Latif

Passing judgment at the time, Mr Justice Wilkie said: 'In my judgment, these offenders would remain, even after a lengthy term of imprisonment, of such a significant risk that the public could not be adequately protected by their being managed on licence in the community, subject to conditions, by reference to a preordained release date.'

But this sentence was quashed at the Court of Appeal in April 2013 and he was given a determinate 16-year jail term instead, meaning he would be automatically released after eight years.

Judges including Lord Justice Leveson said at the time when reversing the original sentence that the Parole Board was best placed to decide when he would be safe to be released from jail.

But today the Parole Board has released a statement saying that Khan was released automatically and they did not make the decision.

Khan, circled third from the right, had been arrested along with his Al Qaeda cell, pictured, after they were planning a pre-Christmas terror campaign in 2010. Officers had tracked the group, who included from left, Mohibur Raham, Gurukanth Desai, Abdul Miah, Usman Khan, Mohammed Chowdhury and Mohammed Shahjahan in Roath Park in November 2010

It has also emerged today that London Bridge attacker Usman Khan was a student and 'personal friend' of hate preacher Anjem Choudary

It has also emerged today that he was a student and 'personal friend' of hate preacher Anjem Choudary. Khan spent years preaching on stalls that were linked to al-Muhajiroun, the banned terror group once led by Choudary.

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