Mosque killer jailed for at least 43 years
A FATHER-OF-FOUR who deliberately mowed down Muslim worshippers outside a mosque after becoming radicalised by events including the Rochdale grooming scandal and the Manchester Arena bomb has been jailed for at least 43 years.
Darren Osborne veered a hire van onto a crowded pavement outside two mosques in north London shortly after midnight on June 19 last year, killing Makram Ali, 51, and injuring 12 others.
The 48-year-old, who had denied murder and attempted murder, acted to ‘kill, maim, injure and terrify’ as many people as possible in a bid to sow ‘long-lasting terror among the Muslim population.’
Osborne, who stood with his hands crossed in front of him as sentence was passed at Woolwich Crown Court, gave no reaction as Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told him: “This was a terrorist attack. You intended to kill.”
Osborne, of Glyn Rhosyn in Cardiff, had become obsessed with Muslims after watching Three Girls, the BBC drama about the Rochdale grooming scandal, in May last year, the court heard. He was also angered by what he deemed as inaction following a string of UK terror attacks, including the Manchester Arena bombing which took place less than a week after Three Girls aired, his estranged partner Sarah Andrews said.
“Over the space of a month or so your mindset became one of malevolent hatred,” the judge said.
“In short, you allowed your mind to be poisoned by those who claim to be leaders.”
Sentencing today, the judge said: “You have been convicted on overwhelming evidence by an intelligent British jury who saw through your pathetic last-ditch attempt to deceive them by blaming someone else for your crimes.”
She described his murderous rampage as a ‘suicide mission,’ adding that a handwritten note found in the cab of the van revealed his ‘twisted view of Muslims.’
During his nine-day trial, Osborne told the court he had wanted to kill senior Labour figures including leader Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
He had also plotted to murder Rochdale Labour councillor Aftab Hussain, who he said had backed a member of grooming gangs, but called it off because he wanted ‘more casualties.’
The attacker admitted he had initially hoped to target the pro-Palestinian Al Quds march in central London, but his plans were thwarted by road closures.
Instead, he made his way to Finsbury Park, where he struck Muslims leaving evening prayers on the junction between Seven Sisters Road and Whadcoat Street.
Two minutes earlier Mr Ali had collapsed on the floor, just 100 yards from his front door, prompting bystanders to rush to his aid.
The judge commended the actions of Imam Mohammed Mahmoud, of the Muslim Welfare House, who ‘had the strength of character to do the right thing under pressure,’ when he stopped angry bystanders from attacking Osborne after the collision.
She said: “His behaviour throws into sharp relief the bile spewed out online from those who aspire to lead the haters.”
The court heard Osborne had a criminal record spanning 30 years and had appeared in court on 33 occasions for 102 convictions. He first appeared in court aged just 15 and went on to commit an array of offences including shoplifting, fraud, burglary and assault.
He was sentenced to two years in prison for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in 2006.