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As it happenedended

Finsbury Park attack trial as it happened: Witnesses describe Darren Osborne's alleged van ramming to court

Updates from Woolwich Crown Court as Osborne denies murder and attempted murder

Lizzie Dearden
Home Affairs Correspondent
Wednesday 24 January 2018 06:01 EST
Darren Osborne is accused of attempted murder and murder in the Finsbury Park terror attack
Darren Osborne is accused of attempted murder and murder in the Finsbury Park terror attack (PA)

Survivors of the terror attack in Finsbury Park have evidence on the third day of Darren Osborne’s trial.

Witnesses told the jury how a crowd of Muslim worshippers were helping a man who collapsed when a van ploughed into them at speed, scattering victims in its wake.

Mr Osborne attempted to flee from the vehicle but found himself trapped in a dead end, the court heard, and was restrained by survivors while allegedly telling them: "I've done my job, you can kill me now."

Woolwich Crown Court previously heard that the 48-year-old became “brainwashed” after watching a drama on grooming gangs and read posts by Tommy Robinson and the leaders of far-right extremist group Britain First.

He is accused of running a hired van into crowds of Muslim worshippers shortly after 12.15am on 19 June last year, killing 51-year-old Makram Ali and injuring nine other victims.

Mr Osborne denies charges of murder and attempted murder.

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load

On Tuesday, the court heard from a local van hire company that rented Mr Osborne the vehicle used in the attack.

Employees said there appeared to be nothing unusual about the transaction and that the defendant, arriving to pick up the van alone, was “polite and well-mannered”.

The court also from witnesses who saw Mr Osborne drinking in The Hollybush pub in Cardiff the night before the attack.

They told the jury he claimed to be writing a letter to the Government and had told them: “I’m going to kill Muslims, your family are going to be Muslims, they’re all terrorists and I’m going to take it into my own hands.”

Mr Osborne allegedly told drinkers about a march due to take place the following day in London for al-Quds day, which prosecutors said he had researched online.

A taxi driver told the court he gave Mr Osborne, who had driven from Cardiff, directions to the location where the concluding rally was being held on 18 June but that the surrounding roads were closed off.

Other members of the public alleged that the defendant asked them directions to mosques in different parts of London later in the day, finally specifically asking how to get to “the big mosque” in Finsbury Park.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of the scene near the Muslim Welfare House at around midnight, where Mr Ali collapsed and Muslim worshippers leaving prayers rushed to help him.

Mr Osborne stared straight ahead as the court was played footage of the moment the van swerved from the main road into the crowd at speed, leaving casualties scattered on the ground.

A handwritten note – which complained about terrorists, grooming gangs and targeted public figures including Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan - was found in the cab of the van after the attack.

The trial continues.

Mohammed Ali, a disabled man who uses a wheelchair, was among those hit by the van.

In a statement read to the court, he said he was on his way out of a cafe with friends when he saw the crowd around Mr Ali on the ground:

"I heard a vehicle speeding and it hit me from behind...I remember feeling dizzy and my eyes were blurry.

"I fell unconscious and fell out of my wheelchair. When I regained consciousness I saw a crowd of people on the ground."

He adds: "It was the most horrendous thing I have ever experienced and I was shocked."

Lizzie Dearden24 January 2018 13:00

The court hears that another disabled man, who has an artificial leg, was also among those injured.

Another injured man, Mohammed Ali, does not remember being hit before getting up and seeing Mr Osborne try to run away.

He says he ran and jumped on his back to bring him to the ground, shouting: "Why are you trying to kill me?"

Lizzie Dearden24 January 2018 13:03

The court is now breaking up for lunch and evidence will resume after we return at 2pm.

Lizzie Dearden24 January 2018 13:03

The court is now back in session and hearing evidence from other witnesses and surivors of the Finsbury Park attack on 19 June.

Lizzie Dearden24 January 2018 14:19

The court has heard evidence from Sharif Xamza, whose scull was fractured in the attack.

He was on his way home from a meal out with friends when he went over to use his first aid training to help Mr Ali.

He doesn't remember being hit by the van but awoke to find a woman telling him there was blood coming out of his ear.

"When I came to, I was in a hospital bed surrounded by my friends," he says.

Lizzie Dearden24 January 2018 14:33

Mohammed Mahmoud, the imam of the Muslim Welfare House, has taken the stand to give evidence.

Lizzie Dearden24 January 2018 14:41

Mr Mahmoud said a member of his congregation ran into the mosque and said there had been an attack, so he followed him outside.

"As soon as I arrived, I saw bodies left and right, I saw Makram Ali on the floor having CPR and I saw the attacker on the floor face-down with two or three people on top of him."

Lizzie Dearden24 January 2018 14:46

He says 10 to 15 people were trying to kick and punch Mr Osborne as he approached and he called them to get back and call the police, leaving him "unscathed".

Mr Mahmoud says: "It was natural response, he posed no harm to anybody, he was immobilised, he wasn't a threat.

"I said he should answer for his crime in a court like he is doing now, not in a court in the streets."

Lizzie Dearden24 January 2018 14:53

Mr Mahmoud tells the court one man had a piece of panelling he was trying to hit Mr Osborne with and he stopped him.

The imam describes the atmosphere as "incredibly heated". He tells the court he was concerned Mr Osborne would be injured, adding: "There's a rule of law that must be respected and we shouldn't let our emotions and our desire to see vengance dictate our decisions."

Mr Mahmoud says he ran up to a police van, knocked on the window and told them to take Mr Osborne for his own safety, telling them: "There's a crowd and I can't keep them all back."

Lizzie Dearden24 January 2018 15:06

In a written statement read to the court, Finsbury Park resident Susan Can said she heard a loud bang and went out of her home with her 15-year-old daughter to see the aftermath of the attack.

She said she saw a white man on the floor and initially assumed he had been injured until she heard him saying: "Kill me, kill me, kill me. I'm going to kill more Muslims."

Ms Can added: "As he was sat in the police van, I saw him blow a kiss to the crowd and that made them angrier still."

She says she has lived in Finsbury Park for many years and described how the diverse local community "gets on well" and was shocked by the attack, gathering for a vigil at the scene the following day.

Lizzie Dearden24 January 2018 15:11

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