Justice activists and political leaders speak out in wake of article by victim’s father
Political leaders and criminal justice campaigners have condemned the prime minister, Boris Johnson, for his response to the London Bridge attack in the wake of an article written for the Guardian by the father of one of the victims.
Jack Merritt, 25, coordinator for Cambridge University’s Learning Together initiative, which brings together offenders and those in higher education “to study alongside each other”, was stabbed to death by convicted terrorist Usman Khan on Friday, alongside 23-year-old Saskia Jones.
In a powerful piece published in the Guardian on Monday, Dave Merritt tackled head on Johnson’s response to the attack that took his son’s life, writing: “He [Jack] would be seething at his death, and his life, being used to perpetuate an agenda of hate that he gave his everything fighting against.”
Reacting to the article, the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said: “This morning I had the honour of meeting some of Jack’s friends. They were in total shock about the loss of Jack, who was clearly a compassionate and principled young man.
