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Finsbury Park attacker found guilty of murder Finsbury Park attack: man 'brainwashed by anti-Muslim propaganda' convicted
(about 1 hour later)
Darren Osborne, who drove van into Muslims outside mosque, convicted of terrorist attack that killed Makram Ali Darren Osborne is found guilty of terrorist killing outside mosque, triggering review of extreme right threat
Vikram Dodd and Vikram Dodd and
Kevin RawlinsonKevin Rawlinson
Thu 1 Feb 2018 15.52 GMT Thu 1 Feb 2018 19.48 GMT
Last modified on Thu 1 Feb 2018 18.17 GMT First published on Thu 1 Feb 2018 15.52 GMT
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A man has been convicted of murder and attempted murder after driving a van into a group of Muslims near a north London mosque in a terrorist attack. A man “brainwashed” within a month by anti-Muslim propaganda has been found guilty of a murderous terrorist attack on worshippers leaving a mosque, triggering a complete review of the national security threat posed by the extreme right.
A jury concluded that Darren Osborne intended to kill as many Muslims as possible and had been “brainwashed” after gorging on extremist rightwing propaganda online. A jury took less than an hour to be convinced that Darren Osborne, 48, drove a van into a crowd of Muslims near a mosque in Finsbury Park, north London, killing one and injuring 12.
The circumstances of his radicalisation led one anti-extremism organisation to warn that online hate speech was a growing problem and blame some right-wing media coverage for “propelling anti-Muslim hatred into the mainstream”. Police believe the catalyst for Osborne’s descent into hate was seeing a BBC drama about a sexual abuse scandal involving Muslim men, which was then used in online extremist propaganda against Islam. He was a heavy consumer of internet propaganda from Tommy Robinson, the founder of the English Defence League and material from Britain First, another extremist hate group.
A jury of eight women and four men took one hour to convict the father of four. Osborne, who had denied both charges, nodded in the dock as the verdict was read out but showed little emotion. He will be sentenced on Friday. In the premeditated attack in June 2017, Osborne’s rented van left a tyre mark on the upper torso of Makram Ali, 51, targeted because he was Muslim and as he returned from prayers.
Police believe one catalyst for his three-week spiral into terrorism was a BBC drama about a Muslim grooming gang. Ali died 100 yards from his home in a killing witnessed by some of his family. Others were left with life-changing injuries.
The attack last June left Makram Ali, 51, dead with a tyre mark across his chest and 12 others injured after the van Osborne was driving struck people in Finsbury Park. The jury had been told Osborne wanted to kill as many Muslims as possible.
Osborne, 48, was convicted after a trial at Woolwich crown court in south-east London. The case was prosecuted as a terrorist offence because Osborne’s actions were taken in order to advance a political purpose, a factor that will be taken into account when the sentence is decided. The Finsbury Park attack followed the assassination of the Labour MP Jo Cox in June 2016 by Thomas Mair, a rightwing extremist, and the banning of three extreme rightwing groups later that year, including National Action.
The Guardian understands a review has been launched into the extreme right by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre. Sources say it is assessing how determined they are to kill, how able they are to murder, what their motivations are, and how they spread their propaganda and get recruits.
It is the first assessment of the entire landscape of the threat the extreme right poses to national security by JTAC, an elite Whitehall counter-terrorism unit, which has previously concentrated on jihadist and Irish violent extremism.
Senior counter-terrorism sources told the Guardian there were 100 violent neo-Nazis and far-right extremists committed to a racial and religious war in Britain.
That figure did not include Osborne, not known as an extremist to police, who are in charge of countering the white rightwing threat, which senior security officials believe is rising.
The prosecution said the killing was terrorist, fuelled by Osborne’s hatred of Muslims, which his partner, Sarah Andrews, said had developed rapidly in the weeks before the attack, leaving him “a ticking timebomb”.
It started with the BBC drama Three Girls, and then, according to Andrews, Osborne had become “obsessed” with Muslims. He binged on social media postings by Robinson and members of Britain First.
The hate material Osborne consumed does not break any terrorism or criminal law, said Commander Dean Haydon of Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command. “We have to be alive to the fact that people are accessing this material and they are using it to self-radicalise, and that’s what happened in this case.”
Haydon added online material from Robinson had influenced Osborne’s rapid spiral into forming a terrorist murderous intent: “There is material out there linked to some of the groups connected to him that quite clearly has been an influencer in this case.”
The Finsbury Park attack followed three Islamist terrorist attacks in London and Manchester from March to June 2017. A note recovered from the van Osborne had driven down from Wales, where he lived, railed against Muslims, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, and the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
The jury heard that after the attack Osborne was saved by an imam, who protected him despite his attempt to run down Muslims. Osborne was seen to smile and say: “I’ve done my bit” and: “I want to kill more Muslims.”
Osborne will be sentenced on Friday at Woolwich crown court and faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.
In a defence that the prosecutor, Jonathan Rees QC, described as “absurd”, he had claimed “a guy called Dave”, who was not visible on any CCTV footage, had been driving the van while he changed his trousers in the footwell.In a defence that the prosecutor, Jonathan Rees QC, described as “absurd”, he had claimed “a guy called Dave”, who was not visible on any CCTV footage, had been driving the van while he changed his trousers in the footwell.
The jury was told by the prosecution that the act was terrorism driven by Osborne’s hatred of Muslims, which his partner said had developed rapidly in the weeks before the attack, leaving him “a ticking timebomb”. The JTAC review will be accompanied by a greater likelihood of MI5 involvement in countering the threat of rightwing terrorism. Officials say the Islamist threat, followed by Irish extremists, are their top terrorism concerns. But one senior official said there were fears the extreme right and jihadist terrorists would become “symbiotic” and feed off each other, leading to a spiral of violence posing an “existential threat” to Britain.
One witness heard the van “accelerate and the noise of changing gears” as the engine revved, its impact leaving a scene of horror with a limb trapped under a wheel. The senior source added the extreme right was already copying tactics from Islamic State to gain followers and incite violence.
Two minutes before the attack, Ali had become ill and fallen to the ground 100 yards from his home. It was just after 12.15am and Muslims were thronging the streets after prayers at two nearby mosques to mark the festival of Ramadan. Nick Lowles, chief executive of anti-extremist charity Hope Not Hate, said: “This case highlights the pernicious nature and danger of online hate and sadly confirms the threat from rightwing extremism.
The attack came after three Islamist terrorist attacks in London and Manchester. A note recovered from the van Osborne had driven down from Wales, where he lived, railed against Muslims, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, and the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. “But it also highlights the role that far-right figures and rightwing media have played in propelling anti-Muslim hatred into the mainstream.
The jury heard that after the attack, Osborne was saved by an imam, who protected him despite his attempt to run down Muslims. Osborne was seen to smile and say: “I’ve done my bit.” “We have long argued that the authorities have not properly understood the nature of anti-Muslim extremism and rhetoric and the potential impact it can have on the Darren Osbornes of this world.”
Opening the case, Rees said Osborne was heard by witnesses to say: “I’ve done my job. You can kill me now.” The prosecutor said a witness claimed the attacker was “constantly smiling”. 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 one-off terrorist incident.”
Rees said Osborne was seen hitting out at people as he tried to escape the throng and said: “I want to kill more Muslims.”
Osborne’s partner, Sarah Andrews, told detectives that in the weeks before the attack, his attitude had changed after he watched Three Girls, a BBC TV drama about the Rochdale grooming scandal.
Andrews said in a witness statement that Osborne had become “obsessed” with Muslims. He was an avid follower of social media postings by the former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson, as well as members of the far-right group Britain First.
The jury heard that the pair had watched Three Girls and, in a statement read to the court, Andrews said she believed Osborne had become angry “about seeing young girls exploited” and developed his fixation with Muslims from that point.
She said Osborne “seemed brainwashed” and had been watching content posted online by Robinson, leading him to seek out more extremist material.
Smartphones and computers showed Osborne had viewed material from Britain First, a group that “campaigns primarily against multiculturalism and what it sees as the Islamisisation of the UK”, Rees told the jury.
Osborne had not worked for a decade and had mental health problems. He tried to kill himself shortly before the attack.
Ali was a father of six children, four daughters and two sons, and had suffered from ill health.
The attack sent shockwaves through Muslim communities in Britain, and came as many noted increasing rhetorical attacks in the mainstream media and from politicians, alongside a rise in extreme rightwing violence. Counter-terrorism officials have also noted an increase in violent attacks.
Osborne was not known to police or MI5 for extremism before his lone-wolf attack.
His defence to the jury contradicted CCTV evidence and a statement his lawyers had submitted to the court on his behalf.
He told the jury that it was “sod’s law” that CCTV had not picked up the point along the route where his supposed co-conspirator Dave had got into the vehicle, adding that he had no idea where Dave had gone in the aftermath of the attack.
CCTV footage shows he was the only person to leave the van after the attack, and carried out reconnaissance by foot shortly beforehand, again on his own.
He wrote the note setting out his extremist views in a Cardiff pub, where CCTV footage and witnesses confirm he was on his own.
Following Osborne’s conviction Sue Hemming, from the CPS, said: “Darren Osborne planned and carried out this attack because of his hatred of Muslims.
“He later invented an unconvincing story to counter the overwhelming weight of evidence but the jury has convicted him. We have been clear throughout that this was a terrorist attack, and he must now face the consequences of his actions.”
The anti-extremism organisation Hope Not Hate said that the case highlighted the threat of extremist propaganda online but also raised concerns about some coverage in the mainstream.
Nick Lowles, the organisation’s chief executive, said: “This case highlights the pernicious nature and danger of online hate and sadly confirms the threat from right-wing extremism, which we have long warned about.
“But it also highlights the role that far-right figures and right-wing media have played in propelling anti-Muslim hatred into the mainstream.”
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