Fishmongers’ Hall attacker ‘discussed Islam with Lee Rigby’s killer’

The convicted terrorist Usman Khan discussed Islam with Lee Rigby’s killer and sought out the hate preacher Abu Hamza in his years in prison before carrying out his deadly attack at Fishmongers’ Hall in London, an inquest jury has heard.

While released on licence, Khan killed Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones at a prisoner rehabilitation event in the hall in November 2019, less than a year after being assessed as “highly dangerous to the public” by the prison service.

The inquest into their deaths was told that Khan’s eight-year prison record ran to more than 2,000 pages. It detailed his association with fellow extremists in prison including Hamza, Michael Adebowale, who brutally murdered Fusilier Rigby in 2013, and Brusthom Ziamani, who had been convicted of attempting to murder a prison officer.

The inquest at the Guildhall in London also heard of Khan’s prison involvement in bullying, violence, attempted radicalisations of other prisoners, and stockpiling ingredients for a suspected bomb.

The senior investigating officer, DCI Dan Brown, told the inquest about Khan’s life and long history of extremism in and out of prison. Brown confirmed that in March 2017, Khan talked about his Muslim faith with Adebowale, jurors heard.

Discussing Khan’s record in 2012, Brown said: “We believe he sought to be in the same segregation wing as Abu Hamza, who was again a known extremist who the jury will be familiar with.” Hamza was convicted in the US of 11 terrorism charges after being deported there.

Six months before killing Merritt and Jones while wearing a fake suicide vest, Khan “regularly huddled” with Ziamani, who was in prison for attempting to murder a prison officer in 2014 using homemade weapons and wearing a fake suicide belt.

In 2012 Khan pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts and was in custody until the end of 2018. In a basis of plea, Khan admitted plotting to set up a terrorist training camp in Pakistan which might send fighters back to the UK.

Brown said that in July 2013 while in Long Lartin prison, Khan was found to be stockpiling chemicals for a bomb.

He said: “He was unable to have created an IED at that stage because he wouldn’t have had all the other necessary component parts. However, it is still very concerning that he was stockpiling this kind of material.”

In November 2013, a Church of England chaplain was caught up in an assault by Khan on another prisoner. The same day, a razor blade was found in Khan’s cell, the inquest heard.

In 2017, while at Whitemoor prison, Khan remained a high risk, Brown said. While his behaviour was noted as “acceptable” with “no recent adjudications”, evidence suggested he continued to harbour extremist attitudes and deliberately “told lies or ticked boxes to achieve progression”.

Khan was eventually released in December 2018 subject to 22 licence conditions including wearing a GPS tag and having no access to the internet, Brown confirmed to the jury.

He said that in the weeks leading up to the attack Khan had expressed frustration at not finding a job, after he was turned down for an interview at the DIY chain Screwfix when his terrorist record was disclosed.

Two weeks before his attack, officers from the anti-terrorist Prevent unit paid an unannounced visit to Khan’s flat in Stafford, the inquest heard. Notes of the visit revealed that Khan was unhappy about police photographing his Xbox video game and DVDs. “He stated that this was a breakdown in the trust,” the inquest heard.

A follow-up visit by Khan’s probation officer, Ken Skelton, four days later found he was still annoyed about the photographs and “getting despondent about finding work”.

The inquest continues.