Fishmongers' Hall didn't know about Usman Khan's past, says venue clerk

The managers of Fishmongers' Hall would have refused to host a prisoner event had they known a convicted terrorist would attend, an inquest heard.

Usman Khan, 28, killed Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones at the Learning Together event in London on 29 November 2019.

Commodore Toby Williamson told the Guildhall the Fishmongers' Company were informed the event was "low-risk".

But he said they were not told about Khan's background, something he "bitterly" wished they had known.

Giving evidence to the jury, Commodore Williamson said the Fishmongers' Company had never been told that Usman Khan was a convicted terrorist.

"He was presented on an attendee list in alphabetical order... we didn't know him from anyone else who was attending," he said.

Khan was freed from jail in December 2018 after serving a sentence for funding a training camp abroad.

Commodore Williamson said he believed that had they asked Learning Together more about the event, they would have said it was low-risk.

"That was the position of Learning Together and that was their understanding," he said.

The jury was told there were no knife arches or wands in use at the venue in November 2019, but a safety assessment carried out that year found the risk of a terror attack was high, even though the likelihood of one actually taking place was very low.

When asked if the hall would be prepared to host a similar event in the future, Commodore Williamson replied that "it couldn't possibly".

"You have someone who is recently released from Category A prison with a terrorist background. We couldn't provide the sort of arrangements for that individual," he said.

"A terrorist offender (Khan) with a short track record coming out of prison is information I bitterly wish we had known beforehand."

Commodore Williamson revealed that a plaque commemorating the tragedy would be put in place at the venue this summer.

"I cannot tell you how much we care about this - it's hurt us all," he added.

Earlier, the inquests heard from forensic pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl, who described the injuries suffered in the attack by Mr Merritt and Ms Jones.

The jury was told Mr Merritt received 15 injuries during a struggle with Khan and had been stabbed "multiple times".

Dr Fegan-Earl said wounds to the 25-year-old's arms and torso were "indicative of a dynamic assault with significant defensive posturing".

He continued: "What I mean by that is, an individual who is assaulted with a knife, if they are capable of anticipating a blow, the natural reaction is to raise the arm to defend themselves."

The pathologist said that "extreme force was used" against Mr Merritt and gave a cause of death as shock and haemorrhage caused by a stab wound to the chest.

Speaking about Ms Jones, Dr Fegan-Earl said the 23-year-old was stabbed only once, above the collarbone, which had cut through large blood vessels to her arm, causing "catastrophic bleeding".

He told jurors it was likely the injury was caused by a knife with a single sharp cutting edge and said: "In my view, on a three-point scale of mild, moderate and severe, I was of the view that severe force would have been deployed."

The cause of death given was the same as Mr Merritt.

The inquests continue.