Family of London Bridge killer ‘totally condemn’ his attack

Usman Khan killed two people in the British capital on Friday

Forensic officers investigate the scene of yesterday's London Bridge stabbing attack on November 30, 2019 in London, England.  Peter Summers/Getty Images

The family of London Bridge attacker Usman Khan have said they are “shocked and saddened” by the incident and vehemently condemned his actions.

Khan, 28, claimed the lives of two Cambridge University graduates in a killing spree near London Bridge on Friday.

Khan, who was previously convicted on charges of terrorism in 2012, murdered Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, as he was attending a prisoner rehabilitation event at Fishmongers’ Hall on London Bridge on Friday.

After stabbing multiple people at the event, he ran out onto the bridge, where he was apprehended by members of the public, including former convicts from the conference, before being shot dead by police. Police said he was wearing a fake suicide vest.

In a short statement issued through the Metropolitan Police on Tuesday, Khan’s family expressed their condolences with the families of the victims.

"We are saddened and shocked by what Usman has done,” they said.

"We totally condemn his actions and we wish to express our condolences to the families of the victims that have died and wish a speedy recovery to all of the injured.

"We would like to request privacy for our family at this difficult time."

Earlier on Tuesday, Merritt’s girlfriend Leanne O’Brien, described her partner as a “phenomenal man”.

"My love, you are phenomenal and have opened so many doors for those that society turned their backs on,” she wrote of her boyfriend in a social media post.

She attended a service in Cambridge on Monday with Merritt’s family, paying tribute to her boyfriend and Jones.

Merritt’s father David on Tuesday said that his son would have been “livid” if he had seen how much his death had been politicised. Both the Conservatives and the Labour have blamed each other for the early release of Khan, who was jailed in 2012 for plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange but was automatically released halfway through his prison sentence a year ago.

Khan was living in Stafford, in England’s midlands, and was given permission to travel alone to London by police and the Probation Service after tricking authorities saying he had reformed.

On Saturday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said if his ruling Conservative party wins a majority in the general election on December 12, terrorists will serve their entire sentences and no longer be eligible for early release. He added that they must spend at least 14 years in jail.