British man found guilty of fatal attack outside London mosque

A British man who drove a van into a crowd of Muslim men outside a mosque in London has been found guilty by a UK court for killing a man.
2 min read
01 February, 2018
A British man "obsessed with Muslims" has been found guilty of murder after driving his van into a crowd outside a London mosque last summer, which led to the death of one man and injuring others.

Darren Osborne, aged 48, was prosecuted by police on terror charges following the attack 19 June, while an investigation was launched. 

A jury Thursday found the Cardiff-based man guilty of murder and attempting to kill others in the crowd outside the mosque in North London's Finsbury Park district.

Makram Ali, aged 51, was killed in the attack which took place during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

Osborne directed his van into the crowd that had gathered around Ali who collapsed outside a mosque.

A local imam protected Osborne from the angry crowd after the attack.

Osborne was "radicalised" by a BBC TV drama based on child sex crimes committed by Asian men in northern England, Reuters claimed.

Prosecutors painted the picture of a violent, angry and disturbed man who frequently raged against Muslims.

Osborne had claimed a man called "Dave" took over the wheel and drove into the crowd during the attack.

Witnesses denied this and said Osborne shouted "I've done my job, you can kill me now" and "at least I had a proper go" to victims and bystanders at the scene.

Islamophobic notes were also found inside the van.

The Crown Prosecution Service said 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," said Sue Hemming from the state prosecutors.

"We have been clear throughout that this was a terrorist attack, and he must now face the consequences of his actions."

He will be sentenced at a later date.

Agencies contributed to this story.