The girlfriend of one of the London Bridge terror attack victims has been comforted as she sobbed through a memorial in his hometown. Twin vigils were held in London and in Cambridge this morning to remember Saskia Jones , 23, and year-old Jack Merritt who were fatally stabbed during the attack by convicted terrorist Usman Khan on Friday. The pair had been involved in a prisoner rehabilitation conference that their killer had also been attending. Leanne O'Brien, the grieving girlfriend of Mr Merritt, clutched a cuddly toy and wept as she was supported by family members during the remembrance service in Cambridge, where both victims had been students.
In London, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn stood side-by-side as they observed a minute's silence, along with the city's mayor Sadiq Khan and members of the public. At the service, Mr Khan urged people to come together following the killings and said the "best way to defeat this hatred is not by turning on one another but by focusing on the values that bind us".
He said: "We come together this morning as Londoners to remember, to honour and to mourn the innocent lives lost as a result of this horrific terrorist attack on Friday. The mayor also thanked the public and the emergency services who "ran towards danger, risking their lives to help others".
It said in a statement: "We are shocked and saddened by the news of her death as she was an extraordinary young person; an individual who was talented across the realms of sport, music and academia. As a community our thoughts and prayers are with her family. A former classmate of Mr Merritt at Cambridge recalled with great fondness the "tireless advocate for prisoner rehabilitation", and urged people not to forget what he had stood for in life.
Writing in the New York Times, Emma Goldberg said: "The injustice of somebody murdered while organising for criminal justice feels impossibly sharp. The remembrance services were held as it emerged that one of nine extremists convicted in alongside Usman Khan for plotting to attack the London Stock Exchange had been arrested in Stoke-on-Trent.
