The University of Cambridge has announced the end of the Learning Together prison education programme in the wake of the ¡°unimaginable grief¡± caused by the London Bridge terror attack, which unfolded during one of its conferences.

Usman Khan stabbed to death Learning Together delegates Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones at Fishmongers¡¯ Hall in November 2019.

The conference was a fifth anniversary celebration for the Cambridge scheme, which brought together offenders and researchers to study alongside each other. Khan had taken part in Learning Together while in prison serving a sentence for earlier terror offences.

After the attack, Khan was chased on to London Bridge by fellow attendees, including a serving and former offender, before he was shot dead by police.

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In a statement, the university said the events of that day ¡°were a tragedy for the families who lost loved ones and a traumatic experience for the many others affected¡±.

Following the attack, the university said a number of working groups had been set up to examine ¡°the safeguarding and risk assessment processes for work with prisoners and ex-offenders across the whole university, and to consider the future of the Learning Together programme at Cambridge¡±.

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A transition board on Learning Together chaired by Baroness Morgan of Huyton, Master of Fitzwilliam College, subsequently recommended that the programme should end, a recommendation approved in December 2021 by the university¡¯s general board and its council, the statement continued.

The university also said that it had ¡°strengthened its policies and process around risk assessment and working with people who have offended¡±, while ¡°research in prisons continues¡±.

Cambridge vice-chancellor Stephen Toope said: ¡°The Learning Together Programme helped change many lives for the better. But the London Bridge tragedy caused unimaginable grief.

¡°As a result, an independent review recommended that the programme be halted. The university council and general board took the decision to follow that recommendation.

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¡°The consequences of violence continue to ripple outwards and create further harm. Today I am thinking again of the families and friends of Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones, and the Learning Together community, who continue to suffer from the events of that dreadful day.¡±

john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com