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As it happenedended

Finsbury Park attack trial - as it happened: Darren Osborne faces life imprisonment after being found guilty of murder

Father-of-four from Cardiff had denied the offences

Lizzie Dearden
Home Affairs Correspondent
Thursday 01 February 2018 10:41 GMT
(Rex)

The Finsbury Park terror attacker faces life imprisonment of being convicted of murder and attempted murder.

A jury took just under an hour to reach the unanimous verdicts, disregarding Darren Osborne’s unsubstantiated claim another man ploughed a van into Muslim worshippers leaving mosques after Ramadan prayers.

The atrocity, shortly after midnight on 19 June, killed one man and injured nine other victims.

Justice Cheema-Grubb said she would sentence Mr Osborne on Friday morning.

Thanking the jury for their service, she added: "These verdicts have an impact far wider than inside this courtroom...they are one of hte most important things you have done in your lives."

Scroll down to read how we covered today's proceedings.

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load

Prosecutors had accused Mr Osborne of conjuring his unexpected defence “out of thin air” and urged jurors to dismiss the “frankly absurd” account on Wednesday.

The father-of-four took to the stand for a second day to tell Woolwich Crown Court the deadly attack was carried out by a man called Dave, who was not seen by witnesses or recorded on CCTV.

“He’s like Dynamo, he’s an illusion, an illusionist, he can make himself vanish perhaps, I don't know,” Mr Osborne told the jury.

The 48-year-old claims he, Dave and another man called Terry Jones planned to attack a pro-Palestinian march in London, hoping Jeremy Corbyn would attend, but were thwarted by road closures.

Mr Osborne told the court that he “wasn’t interested” in finding a new target after driving from Cardiff on 18 June and did not plan to kill Muslims in Finsbury Park, instead believing they were going to a pub.

He claimed that Dave jumped into the van in the four seconds it was not filmed on CCTV and ploughed it into a group of Muslim worshippers helping a collapsed man.

Asking how Dave allegedly took over while the van was moving at speed, Mr Osborne said he put it in neutral and “shimmied over real quick”.

He had “no answer” to a series of questions on why he supposedly decided to change his trousers in the footwell and did not pull over, adding: “We're a peculiar bunch of guys.”

Prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC said the defendant’s account was a “desperate attempt” to evade responsibility.

Closing the prosecution’s case, Mr Rees said the involvement of Dave and Terry was a “fabrication” the defendant cobbled together after hearing days of evidence against him.

Body-worn camera footage shows Mr Osborne telling police he was the van’s driver, initially claiming he lost control before later launching into a rant about Muslims, saying: “At least I had a proper go.”

A police officer who interviewed the suspect in hospital recorded him saying he was “flying solo” and that no-one else was involved in the attack.

DC Hazel Londt was instructed to look for evidence that someone would have been capable of getting into the van.

There was a four-second gap where the vehicle was not filmed on CCTV but police said its speed and the pattern of vehices around it showed it could not have stopped.

Lizzie Dearden1 February 2018 12:54

Mr Osborne agreed that there was no CCTV image showing Dave getting in the van and said it was "sod's law" that it was not captured, the judge says.

She says his first statement claimed he met both Dave and Terry in Finsbury Park but later claimed Terry was not there and had been in a pub "getting the drinks in"

Lizzie Dearden1 February 2018 12:56

The judge says Mr Osborne told the court he did not know what Dave would do but that they discussed the Labour MP Diane Abbott.

He claimed he thought there wasn't going to be an attack and "wanted to do something proper".

The defendant said that while the van was still moving he and Dave switched places "simultaneously" and he went into the passenger seat footwell to change his trousers.

Lizzie Dearden1 February 2018 12:59

The judge says Mr Osborne initially said he had urinated on his trousers, then said he couldn't remember, then said he was sweaty and said he hadn't suceeded in taking his trousers off before the attack

Lizzie Dearden1 February 2018 12:59

The judge is sending the jury for a lunch break until 2pm, saying she is about half way through summing up the evidence.

She expects to send them out to consider their verdicts later in the afternoon.

Lizzie Dearden1 February 2018 13:00

We are back in court and the judge is continuing to sum up the evidence around the time of the attack itself.

She says: "These were innocent members of the public going about their business, many demonstrating care and attention for Makram Ali."

Lizzie Dearden1 February 2018 14:07
Lizzie Dearden1 February 2018 14:28

Justice Cheema-Grubb is reviewing evidence from a police officer's body-worn camera showing Mr Osborne describing himself as the driver of the van.

In a later interview with police, he described himself as "flying solo".

Lizzie Dearden1 February 2018 14:38

The judge says the case has now come to an end and the jury must consider their verdicts.

"Does the evidence demonstrate to your satisfaction that Dave the driver is a figment of the defendant's imagination, or can it be that Darren Osborne has finally found the courage to tell the truth?"

Lizzie Dearden1 February 2018 14:50

We are now awaiting the verdict and I will update the live blog as soon as it comes in

Lizzie Dearden1 February 2018 14:58

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