Relief after loner convicted of deadly van attack on Muslims
Jury takes one hour to convict man radicalised in weeks who mowed down worshippers outside mosques
COMMUNITY LEADERS spoke of their relief last night after an unemployed loner who had become radicalised in just a few weeks was convicted of launching a van attack on Muslims.
Darren Osborne, 48, deliberately mowed down worshippers outside two mosques in north London shortly after 12.15am on June 19 last year, killing Makram Ali, 51, and injuring 12 others.
A note written by Osborne – which complained about terrorism, the Rotherham child sex scandal and branded Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn a “terrorist sympathiser” – was found in the cab of the van. Councillor Richard Watts, leader of Islington Council, said: “The attack had a massive impact on our community, and today’s verdict is a huge relief.
“Osborne’s cowardly crimes caused great harm, and continue to cause great suffering.”
Meanwhile, Harun Khan, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “The scenes we witnessed last summer were the most violent manifestation of Islamophobia yet in our country. We cannot be complacent and regard this as a oneoff terrorist incident. We heard during the trial how Osborne was motivated by anti-Muslim groups and Islamophobic tropes not only prevalent in far-right circles, but also made acceptable in our mainstream.”
Prosecutors said they were “clear throughout that this was a terrorist attack” and Osborne was convicted of murder and attempted murder. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced today.
AN UNEMPLOYED “loner” intent on spilling as much blood as possible ploughed a hire van into a group of Muslims after becoming radicalised by far-right material within just a few weeks.
Darren Osborne, 48, deliberately mowed down worshippers outside two mosques in Finsbury Park, north London, shortly after 12.15am on June 19 last year, killing Makram Ali, 51, and injuring 12 others.
A jury took one hour to convict the father-of-four, who was seen smiling and blowing a kiss to angry bystanders in the moments after the terror attack, of murder and attempted murder. He will be sentenced today.
Osborne, who had denied both charges, nodded and looked around the courtroom as the verdicts were delivered at Woolwich Crown Court yesterday.
Part way through his trial the father of four, from Glyn Rhosyn in Cardiff, denied he had been driving the van at the moment of impact, an 11th hour defence the prosecution dismissed as being conjured “out of thin air”.
The attacker said he had no idea Dave – one of his two madeup accomplices – intended to smash into pedestrians, and believed they were on their way to a pub to meet a third co-conspirator, Terry.
But jurors agreed with prosecutors who dubbed his improbable version of events a “total fabrication” and “frankly absurd”.
During the 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 the grooming gangs, but called it off because he wanted “more casualties”.
The attacker admitted he had initially hoped to “plough through” as many people as possible at the pro-Palestinian Al Quds march in central London, previously attended by Mr Corbyn.
But after driving a hire van from Cardiff to London on June 18, road closures thwarted Osborne’s plan.
Instead he travelled across London in hunt of a mosque, eventually ending up in Finsbury Park in Mr Corbyn’s constituency at around midnight.
CCTV footage shows the van circling roads close to the Muslim Welfare House and Finsbury Park mosque, before turning hard left into a crowded pavement at the entrance of Whadcoat Street at 12.16am.
Two minutes earlier Mr Ali had collapsed on the floor after attending evening prayers, just 100 yards from his front door, prompting bystanders to rush to his aid. He died and two others were seriously injured.
Osborne, a “total loner”, had become obsessed with Muslims after watching BBC drama Three
Girls in May last year and was angered by what he deemed as inaction following a string of UK terror attacks, his estranged partner Sarah Andrews said.
Police believe these feelings were further fuelled by far-right material, with devices found at Osborne’s family home revealing multiple searches for English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson and Britain First’s Jayda Fransen.
Within a month Osborne, who had never previously expressed racist tendencies, had become radicalised and decided to take matters into his own hands.
A “sweaty” Osborne was wrestled to the ground after stumbling out, but as a crowd of people attempted to throw punches at him, Imam Mohammed Mahmoud urged them to back off.