The father of a man killed in the London Bridge terror attack has shared posts calling Boris Johnson’s​ response to the murders “beyond disgusting”.

David Merritt, whose son Jack was one of two people killed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan on Friday, condemned the prime minister and Priti Patel, the home secretary, for using the attack as justification for a series of tougher criminal policies.

Mr Merritt suggested the Tories were using his son’s death to promote “vile propaganda” and shared a tweet accusing Mr Johnson of trying to “make political gain from people’s death in a terror incident”.

Cambridge University graduate Jack Merritt, 25, worked for the Learning Together programme, which uses education to try to rehabilitate prisoners into the community.

Following the attack, the Conservatives vowed to toughen terror sentences and stop criminals entering the UK from the EU. They also launched a crackdown on people convicted of terrorism offences who had been released early.

That prompted Mr Merritt to share a tweet by left-wing journalist and academic Ash Sarkar which said: “It’s beyond disgusting that Boris Johnson, Priti Patel and newspapers like the Mail are using Jack Merritt’s death and image to promote an agenda he fought against all his life. He was a passionate believer in rehabilitation and transformative justice, not draconian sentencing.”

He then retweeted a second post by Ms Sarkar which said: “Jack Merritt’s family and loved ones have asked that rightwing newspapers and political parties not use his murder to advance reactionary demands. If you see it happening, call it out. They deserve so much better.”

Mr Merritt also posted two front-page articles about the Conservatives’ crackdown on released terror offenders, writing: “Don’t use my son’s death, and his and his colleague’s photos – to promote your vile propaganda. Jack stood against everything you stand for – hatred, division, ignorance.”

And he shared a tweet by broadcaster Kay Burley that said ”Labour and Tory leaders are using London Bridge attack as a campaigning tool ... shame on them” and another from a Twitter user that claimed the BBC, which had granted the prime minister a lengthy interview on Sunday, was “facilitating Johnson to make political gain from people’s death in a terror incident”.

Within hours of the attack, in which Khan also killed 23-year-old Saskia Jones, Mr Merritt posted on Twitter to say that his son “would not wish his death to be used as the pretext for more draconian sentences or for detaining people unnecessarily”.

London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Show all 29 1 /29 London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident on London Bridge HLOBlog/PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police and emergency services PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Armed police on London Bridge Twitter London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A bystander holding a knife after police surrounded a person at the scene HLOBlog/PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing People fleeing from Borough Market PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police during the incident Twitter London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A white truck across part of London Bridge SophK05/PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A British Transport Police officer runs after reports of an incident Getty London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Boats from the Metropolitan Police Marine Policing Unit patrol near the scene Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A lorry on the bridge crosses over lanes Luke Poulton via Reuters London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Members of the police and emergency services arriving at Monument tube station AFP via Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Members of the public held behind a police cordon Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police at the scene PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police evacuate people from Borough Market AP London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police surrond a part of the bridge Timothy Johnson/Twitter London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A person is assisted after falling when Police evacuated people from Borough Market AP London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A Police Officer cordons off London Bridge Station Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Members of staff are ushered into a Fitness First gym Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Handout photo taken with permission from the twitter feed of @ShashD of police at the scene of an incident on London Bridge in central London. PA Photo. Issue date: Friday November 29, 2019. See PA story POLICE LondonBridge. Photo credit should read: Shash/Twitter/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Shash/Twitter PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing People head away from the vicinity of Borough Market PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Office workers look out of a window at a scene EPA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Armed police at the scene of an incident on London Bridge in central London. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday November 29, 2019. See PA story POLICE LondonBridge. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Dominic Lipinski PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Men in forensics suits walk away from the site REUTERS London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing People are evacuated from London Bridge PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing ArrowontheHill ArrowontheHill/Twitter London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police at the scene of an incident on London Bridge PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Armed police on the scene Alexandra Carr /SWNS.COM London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Buses on London Bridge during the incident AFP via Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police on the scene @joebxggs /SWNS.COM

Khan was shot dead by armed police after stabbing five people on London Bridge. He had been attending an event at Fishmongers’ Hall on the rehabilitation of prisoners.

He was jailed in 2012 for his involvement in a plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

However, he was automatically released in 2018. That decision has been the subject of a row between Labour and the Conservatives, with each party blaming policies introduced by the other when in government.