Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘Driven to kill Muslims by Rochdale sex ring case... and Lily Allen’
Van man hit crowd near mosque
A DAD of four drove a van into a group of Muslims after being left furious by the Rochdale grooming scandal, a court heard yesterday.
Darren Osborne, accused of killing one and injuring nine, also allegedly left a note ranting about pop star Lily Allen and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Unemployed Osborne vowed to “kill all the Muslims” just days before using a hired heavy removals van to ram a crowd near Finsbury Park mosque, North London, jurors were told.
The group were trying to help Makram Ali, 51, who had collapsed on his way home from prayers. He was alive before being run over.
CCTV of the incident on
June 19 last year was played at Woolwich crown court.
Prosecutor Jonathan
Rees QC said: “The only reason he targeted this group is it was plain to him from the way they looked… that most, or all of them, were Muslims.” The court heard bystanders pinned Osborne, 48, to the ground before a local imam stopped the crowd attacking him.
Osborne, of Glyn Rhosyn, Cardiff, allegedly told police: “Every Tom, Dick and Harry over here... taking the f***ing p*ss... well a few off tonight, a few less. “At least I had a proper f***ing go.” Officers found a note inside the hired removal van which referred to terror attacks, and blasted Mr Corbyn, Ms Allen and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, apparently for backing immigration. Osborne’s partner, Sarah Andrews, told police he started making “racist comments” and researching far-right groups after seeing BBC1 drama Three Girls last May. It depicted events in Rochdale where Asian men groomed white girls for sex. Mr Rees told the court: “It appeared to her he was becoming brainwashed. “With the benefit of hindsight, she describes him as a ticking time bomb.” Osborne denies murder and attempted murder.
The trial continues.