A convicted killer who helped subdue a terrorist who stabbed two people to death during a terrifying rampage has been awarded The Queen’s Gallantry Medal. John Crilly is one of four men to be handed the prestigious award for their bravery in helping to stop London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan.
Khan, a convicted terrorist, had attended a prisoner rehabilitation event at Fishmongers’ Hall in the capital in 2019. Crilly was also attending the event and courageously helped to stop Khan, who was wearing a realistic looking suicide belt and had two knives strapped to his hands.
Inside Fishmongers' Hall, Crilly threw a lectern at Khan, then hit him with a chair. He pursued Khan and sprayed a fire extinguisher to force him out of the building and onto London Bridge. He then also used the fire extinguisher to disarm him of the knives.
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Khan was shot dead by police shortly after. Steven Gallant, Darryn Frost and Lukasz Koczocik, who also put themselves in harm's way to stop Khan, were also recipients of the medal. It is the last set of awards issued in the name of the late Queen.
Crilly had only been released from prison a year before the fatal attack, during which Khan killed Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25, who were helping to organise the event. He was originally convicted of murder after Crilly and an accomplice, David Flynn, then 38, broke into a flat in Miles Platting in 2005.
Flynn punched Augustine Maduemezia, 71, who died after he suffered severe head and facial injuries. The pair ransacked his flat and stole a mobile phone and blender.
But Crilly's murder conviction was overturned as a result of the joint enterprise law and the interpretation of the law in the original case. In 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that judges had wrongly interpreted the law and that a defendant should not guilty because they foresaw that a co-accused might commit a crime.
He was originally sentenced to 20 years but after appearing in court again he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was re-sentenced to 18 years, and was released in 2018. After the awards were announced, Oliver Dowden MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: "We all hope we’d react with courage in the face of danger.
"These people have lived through that test, and responded in the most admirable way. Their selfless actions have saved lives, and I want to express profound thanks for their willingness to put themselves in danger to protect others.
"They are all extremely worthy winners of the final Civilian Gallantry awards of Her Majesty the late Queen."
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