London Bridge victim’s father condemns ‘beyond disgusting’ Boris Johnson for using son’s death for political gain

Authored by independent.co.uk and submitted by ManiaforBeatles
image for London Bridge victim’s father condemns ‘beyond disgusting’ Boris Johnson for using son’s death for political gain

The father of a man killed in the London Bridge terror attack has shared posts calling Boris Johnson’s​ response to the murders “beyond disgusting”.

David Merritt, whose son Jack was one of two people killed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan on Friday, condemned the prime minister and Priti Patel, the home secretary, for using the attack as justification for a series of tougher criminal policies.

Mr Merritt suggested the Tories were using his son’s death to promote “vile propaganda” and shared a tweet accusing Mr Johnson of trying to “make political gain from people’s death in a terror incident”.

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Cambridge University graduate Jack Merritt, 25, worked for the Learning Together programme, which uses education to try to rehabilitate prisoners into the community.

Following the attack, the Conservatives vowed to toughen terror sentences and stop criminals entering the UK from the EU. They also launched a crackdown on people convicted of terrorism offences who had been released early.

That prompted Mr Merritt to share a tweet by left-wing journalist and academic Ash Sarkar which said: “It’s beyond disgusting that Boris Johnson, Priti Patel and newspapers like the Mail are using Jack Merritt’s death and image to promote an agenda he fought against all his life. He was a passionate believer in rehabilitation and transformative justice, not draconian sentencing.”

He then retweeted a second post by Ms Sarkar which said: “Jack Merritt’s family and loved ones have asked that rightwing newspapers and political parties not use his murder to advance reactionary demands. If you see it happening, call it out. They deserve so much better.”

Mr Merritt also posted two front-page articles about the Conservatives’ crackdown on released terror offenders, writing: “Don’t use my son’s death, and his and his colleague’s photos – to promote your vile propaganda. Jack stood against everything you stand for – hatred, division, ignorance.”

And he shared a tweet by broadcaster Kay Burley that said ”Labour and Tory leaders are using London Bridge attack as a campaigning tool ... shame on them” and another from a Twitter user that claimed the BBC, which had granted the prime minister a lengthy interview on Sunday, was “facilitating Johnson to make political gain from people’s death in a terror incident”.

Within hours of the attack, in which Khan also killed 23-year-old Saskia Jones, Mr Merritt posted on Twitter to say that his son “would not wish his death to be used as the pretext for more draconian sentences or for detaining people unnecessarily”.

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Shape Created with Sketch. London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Show all 29 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing 1/29 Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident on London Bridge HLOBlog/PA 2/29 Police and emergency services PA 3/29 Armed police on London Bridge Twitter 4/29 A bystander holding a knife after police surrounded a person at the scene HLOBlog/PA 5/29 People fleeing from Borough Market PA 6/29 Police during the incident Twitter 7/29 A white truck across part of London Bridge SophK05/PA 8/29 A British Transport Police officer runs after reports of an incident Getty 9/29 Boats from the Metropolitan Police Marine Policing Unit patrol near the scene Getty Images 10/29 A lorry on the bridge crosses over lanes Luke Poulton via Reuters 11/29 Members of the police and emergency services arriving at Monument tube station AFP via Getty Images 12/29 Members of the public held behind a police cordon Getty Images 13/29 Police at the scene PA 14/29 Police evacuate people from Borough Market AP 15/29 Police surrond a part of the bridge Timothy Johnson/Twitter 16/29 A person is assisted after falling when Police evacuated people from Borough Market AP 17/29 A Police Officer cordons off London Bridge Station Getty Images 18/29 Members of staff are ushered into a Fitness First gym Getty Images 19/29 PA 20/29 People head away from the vicinity of Borough Market PA 21/29 Office workers look out of a window at a scene EPA 22/29 PA 23/29 Men in forensics suits walk away from the site REUTERS 24/29 People are evacuated from London Bridge PA 25/29 ArrowontheHill/Twitter 26/29 Police at the scene of an incident on London Bridge PA 27/29 Armed police on the scene Alexandra Carr /SWNS.COM 28/29 Buses on London Bridge during the incident AFP via Getty Images 29/29 Police on the scene @joebxggs /SWNS.COM 1/29 Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident on London Bridge HLOBlog/PA 2/29 Police and emergency services PA 3/29 Armed police on London Bridge Twitter 4/29 A bystander holding a knife after police surrounded a person at the scene HLOBlog/PA 5/29 People fleeing from Borough Market PA 6/29 Police during the incident Twitter 7/29 A white truck across part of London Bridge SophK05/PA 8/29 A British Transport Police officer runs after reports of an incident Getty 9/29 Boats from the Metropolitan Police Marine Policing Unit patrol near the scene Getty Images 10/29 A lorry on the bridge crosses over lanes Luke Poulton via Reuters 11/29 Members of the police and emergency services arriving at Monument tube station AFP via Getty Images 12/29 Members of the public held behind a police cordon Getty Images 13/29 Police at the scene PA 14/29 Police evacuate people from Borough Market AP 15/29 Police surrond a part of the bridge Timothy Johnson/Twitter 16/29 A person is assisted after falling when Police evacuated people from Borough Market AP 17/29 A Police Officer cordons off London Bridge Station Getty Images 18/29 Members of staff are ushered into a Fitness First gym Getty Images 19/29 PA 20/29 People head away from the vicinity of Borough Market PA 21/29 Office workers look out of a window at a scene EPA 22/29 PA 23/29 Men in forensics suits walk away from the site REUTERS 24/29 People are evacuated from London Bridge PA 25/29 ArrowontheHill/Twitter 26/29 Police at the scene of an incident on London Bridge PA 27/29 Armed police on the scene Alexandra Carr /SWNS.COM 28/29 Buses on London Bridge during the incident AFP via Getty Images 29/29 Police on the scene @joebxggs /SWNS.COM

Khan was shot dead by armed police after stabbing five people on London Bridge. He had been attending an event at Fishmongers’ Hall on the rehabilitation of prisoners.

He was jailed in 2012 for his involvement in a plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

However, he was automatically released in 2018. That decision has been the subject of a row between Labour and the Conservatives, with each party blaming policies introduced by the other when in government.

Khan was involved with Learning Together and was used by the programme as a case study of a positive outcome. He is reported to have been supported in his rehabilitation by Jack Merritt – the man he would go on to murder.

popzi on December 2nd, 2019 at 13:22 UTC »

I'm remaining neutral, but a Terrorist plots to blow up an important building and only got 6 years for it?????? Shouldn't that be longer? Ignoring the fact they then promptly stab 5 people?

Ganglebot on December 2nd, 2019 at 12:47 UTC »

Do you ever feel like we're living in the prequel to V for Vendetta?

amwneuarovcsxvo on December 2nd, 2019 at 12:35 UTC »

Well what is the point of having tragedies just before an election if the political elite can't use them to get us fighting each other while they sit back and laugh at the fact that it is how it's always been?