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London Bridge hero who tackled killer with fire extinguisher revealed to be killer on parole

London Bridge  - @HLOBlog
London Bridge - @HLOBlog

A man seen attempting to subdue London Bridge attacker Usman Khan with a fire extinguisher was a convicted killer who was mentored by one of the victims, it is reported.

The Sun said John Crilly was the man seen in a video clip spraying Khan after the terrorist had stabbed and killed Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones last Friday.

Mr Crilly served 13 years in prison after being convicted of murdering 71-year-old Augustine Maduemezia, but his conviction was quashed after a Supreme Court ruling on joint enterprise law and he was released in 2018.

The court ruled the law on joint enterprise - where defendants were prosecuted for murder even if they did not strike the fatal blow - had been misinterpreted.

Mr Crilly met Mr Merritt while in prison, where the Cambridge graduate was a course coordinator for the Learning Together programme, the Sun said.

The 48-year-old studied for an Open University law degree while in prison and Mr Merritt attended his graduation this year, the paper added.

Speaking when he was released in 2018, Mr Crilly told the BBC: "I had a bad life, I've changed it, I wasn't guilty of murder.

"I totally accept what I did and it was wrong... I would have done the time, I would have done every day of that."

Cambridge University graduates Ms Jones, 23, and Mr Merritt, 25, were attacked during a prisoner rehabilitation event at Fishmongers' Hall last Friday afternoon.

Convicted terrorist Khan, 28, who was living in Stafford, was later identified as their killer.

Armed with two knives and wearing a fake suicide vest, he was tackled by members of the public, including ex-offenders from the conference, before he was shot dead by police.

Mr Merritt, from Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, worked on the programme associated with Cambridge University's Institute of Criminology which is aimed at bringing offenders and people in higher education to "study alongside each other".

A statement from his family said: "Jack Merritt, our beautiful, talented boy, died doing what he loved, surrounded by people he loved and who loved him. He lit up our lives and the lives of his many friends and colleagues, and we will miss him terribly.

"Jack lived his principles; he believed in redemption and rehabilitation, not revenge, and he always took the side of the underdog.

"Jack was an intelligent, thoughtful and empathetic person who was looking forward to building a future with his girlfriend, Leanne, and making a career helping people in the criminal justice system."

Ms Jones, a volunteer on the programme from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, was described as having "great passion" for providing support to victims of crime by her family.

In a statement they said: "She was intent on living life to the full and had a wonderful thirst for knowledge, enabling her to be the best she could be."

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