I’D DO IT AGAIN
Consumed with hate, face of father of four suspected of driving across country to mow down worshippers outside mosque – before blowing a kiss from police van and shouting . . .
THE suspect in the Finsbury Park terror attack was turfed out of a pub for abusing Muslims and vowing to ‘do some damage’. neighbours said Darren Osborne, 47, was a psychopath who had racially abused a 12yearold Muslim boy next door.
They said the jobless mechanic’s life was spiralling out of control. He drank heavily and fought with the mother of his four children. His elderly mother yesterday insisted he was not a terrorist and instead had longterm mental health issues.
last night Osborne was being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder and terrorist offences.
Officers want to know why he drove across the country in an £80aday rented van to mow down worshippers outside a north london mosque.
as political leaders called for calm in the wake of a fourth terrorist attack in three months: Witnesses said Osborne shouted ‘I’m going to kill all Muslims’ and blew kisses from a police van; Police were apparently warned he was acting suspiciously with the van; nine wounded victims were taken to hospital; Most were helping a 52yearold man, Makram ali, who had collapsed minutes before the attack; an imam stepped in to protect Osborne from a vengeful mob. The attack – outside the Muslim Welfare House, yards from Finsbury Park mosque – brought mayhem back to the capital yesterday.
Shortly before 12.20am, a white van ploughed into worshippers helping Mr ali in a street packed with the faithful.
after jumping from the van’s cab, throwing punches and spitting and biting, the attacker allegedly yelled he wanted to ‘kill more Muslims’.
Osborne is said to have begged for death as a mob began assaulting him.
But his life was saved by the imam – Mohammed Mahmoud – who ordered
restraint. Osborne was handed to police and blew kisses from their van.
Mr Ali died in the street and a postmortem examination will determine whether this was from being hit by the van or from his earlier collapse.
Detectives are now working to unravel the suspect’s background. His mother Christine Osborne, 72, from Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, said: ‘It is him, he did it – but there are mental health issues.’
In a statement on behalf of the family last night, Osborne’s nephew Ellis Osborne, 26, said: ‘We are massively shocked; it’s unbelievable, it still hasn’t really sunk in. We are devastated for the families, our hearts go out to the people who have been injured.’
Mr Osborne said his uncle had never expressed racist views. He added: ‘It’s madness. It is obviously sheer madness.’
Neighbours said Osborne split from his partner six months ago and the pair often rowed late into the night. He would, however, do the school run. Former friends said the odd job man was known for his temper and got into fights with those who disagreed with him.
On Saturday night, he was thrown out of the Hollybush pub in Pentwyn, Cardiff, less than a mile from his home. He was ranting about Muslims and Islam and threatening to ‘do some damage’. One woman branded Osborne ‘unhinged’ and said he once grabbed her by the throat and pinned her against a wall while working in a pub. She added: ‘He was like that all the time, causing fights about anything. He was just off his head. He was a big drinker. He would be troublesome and provocative, he would goad people into wanting to fight and stuff like that. He was chaotic.’
Theresa May declared the incident ‘every bit as sickening’ as the atrocities in London and Manchester. She vowed extremism has no place in Britain, pledging: ‘We will stop at nothing to defeat it.’
The Prime Minister added: ‘The terrible terrorist attack which took place last night was an evil borne out of hatred and it has devastated a community. We need to work together as one society, one community, to drive it out, this evil which is affecting so many families.’
Speaking after she chaired an emergency Cobra meeting in Downing Street, Mrs May praised the bravery of those who detained the driver.
She said it was a lone wolf attack but police would continue to assess security needs at mosques and provide additional resources if needed.
She later met Imam Mahmoud and other community leaders during a swiftly arranged visit. She had been criticised for her leaden response to the Grenfell Tower disaster.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn appeared to fight back tears as he visited the site in his North London constituency, and described it as ‘an attack on all of us’.
Sadiq Khan urged people to remain calm and vigilant. The London mayor said: ‘Like the terrible attacks in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge it is an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect.’
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said the incident was ‘quite clearly an attack on Muslims’.
Islamic State supporters used the outrage to call for further atrocities against the West. A ream of messages online questioned why the suspect had been not shot by police. Vile videos of white supremacists celebrating the Finsbury Park attack were circulating on social media.
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