“Sixteen years ago, I warned against the invasion and occupation of Iraq. I said it would set off a spiral of conflict, hate, misery, desperation that will fuel the wars, the conflict, the terrorism and the misery of future generations. It did, and we are still living with the consequences today.” Jeremy Corbyn 30/11/2019
The appalling murders of Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones in a terrorist attack have shocked the nation. Two young graduates had their lives snuffed out while volunteering to help the less fortunate rehabilitate themselves.
In the agony of their grief, Jack Merritt’s family, sensing the media and political reaction that was to follow, summoned up the strength to issue a statement of immense dignity. They said,
“We know Jack would not want this terrible, isolated incident to be used as a pretext by the government for introducing even more draconian sentences on prisoners, or for detaining people in prison for longer than necessary. Jack lived his principles; he believed in redemption and rehabilitation, not revenge.”
The family’s statement was a recognition that there are no simple solutions to complex problems. It is a truth which, like so many others, has eluded Mr Boris Johnson who with depressing predictability sought to blame ‘lefties’ and resorted to the usual ‘lock ‘em up and throw away the key’, knee-jerk grandstanding.
Read more: Dignity and Duplicity on London Bridge
