Finsbury Park mosque attack trial - as it happened: Darren Osborne jailed for 43 years minimum for deadly van attack on Muslims
Judge hits out at 'pathetic' attempt to deceive jury with bizarre cover story
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Darren Osborne has been jailed for life for launching the Finsbury Park terror attack.
A jury found him guilty of murder and attempted murder at the end of a nine-day trial, dismissing his “absurd” claim another man had ploughed the van into a crowd of Muslims and vanished.
Justice Cheema-Grubb explained Osborne had not been charged with a terror offence because it was unnecessary to use specific laws in murder cases, adding: “Murder is murder, whether done for terror motives or some other motive."
She sentenced him to serve two concurrent life sentences with a minimum term of 43 years, telling Osborne the jury had "seen through your pathetic last-ditch attempt to deceive them".
The case was prosecuted as an act of terrorism and, like the killers of Jo Cox and Lee Rigby, Osborne could have his murder sentence lengthened because of his aims.
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Woolwich Crown Court heard how Makram Ali, a 51-year-old grandfather, had collapsed just two minutes before the atrocity shortly after midnight on 19 June.
A crowd of Muslim worshippers, several of them wearing traditional clothing, gathered around him to help before being spotted by Osborne as he looped around Finsbury Park in search of a target.
Survivors described how they chased the 48-year-old down after he crashed the van and stumbled out of the driver’s seat.
He fought against those trying to pin him to the ground, then smiled and said: “I’ve done my job, you can kill me now.”
Witnesses gave the court harrowing accounts of seeing Mr Ali’s body on the ground and nine other victims “scattered” around him, including one man trapped under the van who was left with life-changing injuries.
A note found in the vehicle – scribbled down in a pub the night before – contained Osborne's ranting against Muslims, grooming gangs, Jeremy Corbyn, Sadiq Khan and Lily Allen.
He denied charges of murder and attempted murder but submitted no statement in his defence until Friday – after hearing five days of evidence proving his guilt.
Osborne’s new story claimed that he mounted the original plan to cause “as much damage as possible” at a pro-Palestinian march in London with two men he met in a Welsh pub.
He told the court that alongside supposed co-conspirators Dave and Terry Jones, he hoped to found a Welsh far-right group called the “Taffia”.
Osborne said he was prepared to die targeting the Al-Quds Day march on 18 June but could not reach the central London rally because of road closures, so started searching for a new target.
“In his mind, the defendant had cast all Muslims as criminals and decided to take matters into his own hands and punish them,” prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC said, saying the atrocity was inspired by a “hatred of all Muslims that had its roots in the material Osborne had watched on television and viewed online”.
Osborne’s partner, Sarah Andrews, told the court the "functioning alcoholic" was being treated for depression and had considered suicide in the weeks leading up to the attacks.
She said he had become “brainwashed” after watching a drama on grooming gangs in Rochdale and reading social media posts by far-right leaders including Tommy Robinson and Jayda Fransen.
Police believe Osborne was radicalised in under a month, sparking calls for internet companies and the security services to combat extremist material even if it does not violate terror laws.
The sentencing hearing was expected to resume at noon, but it has now been delayed until 12.30pm
The hearing is about to resume, with Justice Cheema-Grubb to announce Darren Osborne's sentence
The judge has arrived back and 11 members of the jury who chose to come back for the sentencing have taken their seats.
Osborne has been told to stand
Justice Cheema-Grubb tells him the jury "saw through your pathetic last-ditch attempt to deceive them".
She says the Met Police's detailed security arrangements at the al-Quds Day march had "saved many lives".
The judge says Osborne singled out his target because he "identified them as Muslims by their mode of dress".
She talks of the severe impact on victims, which included people of all ages, men and women, deaf people and a man who was knocked from his wheelchair
The judge says his criminal record reflects a "belligerent and violent character"
She says that after watching the Three Girls programme he was radically radicalised by material put online in Britain and the US "by those determined to spread hate against Muslims"
"This was a terror attack," says the judge. "This was a murder done for the purpose of advancing a political, racial or ideological cause" and a terrorist connection.
The judge says it is "not one of those rare cases" where a whole-life term is required because Osborne did not succeed in his aim to kill multiple people.
Judge sentences Osborne to two concurrent life sentences with a minimum term of 43 years minus the 224 days already served in custody