Can a murderer be a hero? Is killing ever justified? What are the limits of compassion? Can people really change? London Bridge: Facing Terror certainly doesn’t shy away from the big questions. As it combs through the details of Usman Khan’s 2019 attack at Fishmongers’ Hall, this documentary – narrated primarily by three men who acted swiftly and courageously to bring the violence to an end – sets out to complicate stereotypical ideas about criminals, victims and onlookers who come to the rescue.
Complicated is also how the programme ends up – not always in the best way – but a certain amount of confusion was probably inevitable: we are not dealing with a crime that can easily be repackaged into a neat morality tale. The attack began at a celebratory event for Learning Together, an organisation that attempted to help prisoners reintegrate into society. Khan, who was on licence from HM Prison Belmarsh where he had served time for terror offences, spoke publicly there about how he had benefited from the scheme. Afterwards, he went into the toilets, taped knives to his hands and strapped on a suicide belt (later discovered to be fake), before murdering Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones, two young Cambridge graduates who were working at the event, and running out on to London Bridge, where he was eventually killed by police.
