Mosque attack accused in court

A man accused of driving a van into worshippers near London’s Finsbury Park Mosque became convinced that all Muslims were extremists or rapists in paedophile gangs, a prosecutor said yesterday.

Darren Osborne, 48, is accused of driving into a crowd of worshippers attending Ramadan prayers in June. A 51-yearold man, Makram Ali, was killed and nine people were injured in the attack.

Osborne, of Cardiff, Wales, denies charges of murder and attempted murder. On the first day of Osborne’s murder trial, prosecutor Jonathan Rees said the “act of extreme violence” was intended to kill as many people as possible. Osborne was pinned to the ground by several men until police arrived, and was heard to say “I want to kill more Muslims,” Rees said.