Fishmongers' Hall terror attack victim 'had chalk-white face'

A retired judge who was at Fishmongers' Hall during the terror attack saw one of the victims lying at the foot of a staircase with a "chalk-white" face.

Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt were stabbed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan at a prisoner rehabilitation conference on 29 November 2019.

At the inquest into their deaths, John Samuels said he heard "screams" before seeing Ms Jones on the floor.

"She appeared unconscious to me or perhaps even dead," he said.

The retired judge had been at Fishmongers' Hall, having previously run a training course for prisoner rehabilitation organisation Learning Together in 2018.

He told the inquest at London's Guildhall, how he had been on the balcony of the building's grand entrance hall when the attack unfolded.

''I heard shouts and screams coming from downstairs and I could not understand what was happening," he said.

"The first sounds were male shouts, the shouts were angry and confused," he said.

Mr Samuels described how he then saw Ms Jones lying on the floor.

"I noted particularly her face was chalk-white, she appeared unconscious to me or perhaps even dead," he said.

Mr Samuels said he then saw one of the organisers of the event, Dr Amy Ludlow, shouting ''police, ambulance, now'' into her mobile phone and there had been shouts of "there's a bomb".

Having been told to evacuate, Mr Samuels said he then heard an ''authoritative voice'' outside saying that there was a bomb and he should take shelter.

The retired judge said he now assumed that voice had belonged to a police officer.

The inquest is scheduled to last nine weeks and is expected to be followed by a separate jury inquest into the death of Khan.