ONE is a convicted murderer, the other works for the government’s justice department.
But Steve Gallant and Darryn Frost share a genuine bond – forged the day they took down a terrorist on London Bridge.
They confronted knife-wielding Usman Khan after he killed Cambridge graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, during an offender rehabilitation event at Fishmongers Hall in November 2019.
As the fanatic tore out the building to kill more innocents on London Bridge, Steve and Darryn took down 5ft narwhal tusks from the wall and gave chase, battering Usman into submission while fellow inmate John Crilly blasted the ISIS sympathiser with a fire extinguisher.
Steve, jailed for the murder of a fireman, was given a Royal Prerogative of Mercy which cut his sentence by 10 months in recognition of his bravery.
On the day he left jail in August 2021, with a handful of meagre possessions in a bag, Darryn was outside the prison walls waiting to pick him up.
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Steve, 46, told The Sun: “The first time I met Darryn was when he handed me the narwhal tusk and we took down Usman.
“He came to see me in prison after that and we built up a genuine friendship.
“When I was released it was Darryn who was waiting for me outside the jail. He even offered me a place to stay but probation had already sorted it.
“We were on opposite sides of the fence but put our trust in each other that day.”
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8Their unlikely friendship has led to the creation of a venture to give ex-offenders a place to stay on their release, called Own Merit – a nod to Jack Merritt, who coordinated the University of Cambridge’s Learning Together event that fateful afternoon.
Darryn, 42, of Northampton, an MoJ communications officer, said: “On the day of the attack we helped each other without even speaking to get through the whole experience.
“When the Ministry of Justice asked what they could do for me because I was in a bit of a state, I asked them to make sure the prisoners involved got the same help I did. I knew they’d be going through the same trauma, the same PTSD.
“It was through that I started to support Steve through his release and we’ve been friends ever since.”
Steve, who has now written a book called The Road to London Bridge,was on his first day release from jail when Khan struck 11 months after being freed from prison. The terrorist was shot dead by cops.
Intelligence that Khan planned to carry out terror attacks after his release from prison was not shared with probation, which allowed him to attend the fifth anniversary of the educational project.
Steve, Darryn, John Crilly, and Polish porter Lukasz Koczocik, 43, who was stabbed in the hand, arm and shoulder as he fought Khan, were all awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal last month.
In his book Steve reveals he already had concerns over the terrorist threat to Britain – after watching extremists groom new inmates.
He says: “Khan had been planning attacks on the Stock Exchange, Parliament and the US Embassy and was one of scores of Islamic terrorists who came into the prison system while I was inside.
“There was a concern on high that extremism would lead to people being radicalised in prison. I can tell you that fear was well-founded.”
Scalded with boiling fat
Steve tells how HMP Frankland, where he served most of his sentence, was a hotbed of radicalisation with Muslim extremists converting vulnerable prisoners.
He describes how a tit-for-tat prison war broke out after Al-Qaeda agent Dhiren Barot, 51, had a pan of boiling cooking fat poured over his head in 2007.
Barot, jailed the previous year for plotting mass murder on a ‘colossal and unprecedented scale’ in America and Britain, was revered by his ‘brothers’.
There was a concern on high that extremism would lead to people being radicalised in prison. I can tell you that fear was well-founded
In retaliation another terrorist Omar Khyam, serving 20 years for planning a fertiliser bomb attack in London, doused white armed robber Malcolm Cruddas with hot oil.
Steve writes: “There was now a battle for wing control. Those who had stoked the fire had created deadly enemies.
“It didn’t matter to the convicted terrorists, as they committed themselves to a violent cause, and some were only alive because their bombs had failed to detonate while strapped to them.
"Nor did it matter to the hardened gang members and individuals (on both sides) who made a living out of reputational violence.”
Steve says new, terrified prisoners would be taken under the wing of extremists and groomed with kindness before being persuaded to convert to Islam and given a new Arabic name.
Changed man
Steve, who finished a degree in business after his release from jail, may be a hero in the nation’s eyes but he is keenly aware of the havoc he wreaked after killing firefighter Barrie Jackson in 2005.
Hull Crown Court heard how Barrie, 30, had been sprayed with CS gas and beaten to the ground by a gang of men, including Gallant who wrongly believed the victim had attacked his girlfriend days earlier.
In October 2003, father-of-two Jackson was acquitted of attempting to murder a 64-year-old Hull prostitute.
Steve said: “The good I’ve done can’t possibly outweigh the bad.
“If it was me and someone had killed my family member, I would say it wasn't possible.
“I was 28 when I went to prison and I’ve changed so much. My attitude has changed and sometimes I sit here and think ‘who was that person? What was in your mind? How did you end up doing that?
The good I’ve done can’t possibly outweigh the bad. If it was me and someone had killed my family member, I would say it wasn't possible
“Relating to that person is difficult for me, it’s almost embarrassing.”
When he was first released from jail with just £65 in his pocket, Steve admits he found it hard to get used to a new life on the outside.
“It was fantastic to finally walk outside but I’m always aware that I’m never fully free because I’m on life licence.”
Steve, who now works with penal reform group the Howard League, and Darryn are hoping Own Merit will give prisoners a chance to get back on their feet when their sentences end.
Evidence shows that offenders in stable accommodation are half as likely to commit further crime.
Darryn said: “People are human regardless of whether they have been in prison or not.
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“Steve made the decision to turn his life around and there’s a lot of people like him in jail. They don’t all do as well as him, but they want to change and we want to give them as much help as we can.”
Steve’s book The Road to London Bridge, published by Seven Dials, is out now. To donate or find out more about Own Merit visit ownmerit.org
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