Finsbury Park terror trial - as it happened: Suspect wanted to kill Jeremy Corbyn at pro-Palestinian march, court hears

Father-of-four, 48, denies charges of murder and attempted murder

(Reuters)

The alleged Finsbury Park attacker has claimed he was not driving the van as it hit Muslim worshippers.

Darren Osborne told Woolwich Crown Court a man called Dave had jumped into the moving vehicle and unexpectedly ploughed it into victims while he was changing his trousers in the footwell.

The defendant claimed he, Dave and another man called Terry Jones, originally planned to attack a Muslim politician in Rochdale, and then a pro-Palestinian march in the hope of killing Jeremy Corbyn and protesters.

Mr Osborne could not explain how Dave disappeared afterwards and was not seen by dozens of witnesses.

He had told counter-terror police he was "flying solo" in interview shortly after attack, the court heard.

The father-of-four denies charges of murder and attempted murder after allegedly ramming a van into Muslim worshippers shortly after midnight on 19 June.

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load

Police told the jury CCTV shows only Mr Osborne inside the van and body camera footage taken shortly after his arrest shows him telling an officer that he was driving.

In an urgent safety interview conducted later in hospital, he allegedly told a counter-terrorism there was no one else involved, adding: "I'm flying solo, mate."

Prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC yesterday presented CCTV showing the movements of Mr Osborne driving around the area in the minutes before the attack.

Deemed by prosecutors to be an act of terrorism, it killed one man and seriously injured nine others, including a victim who was left trapped under the van.

Mr Rees said the new evidence was “directed at the issue of whether Mr Osborne, the defendant, acted together with other persons, specifically a man called Dave and a man called Terry Jones”.

The jury was played a series of CCTV footage clips showing the van used in the attack driving around Finsbury Park in the 10 minutes before the attack.

At one point it is seen parked while Mr Osborne, 48, buys a drink and returns, and there is a four-second gap in the coverage between cameras shortly afterwards.

Another clip shows the view of the attack from the other side of a fence that formed a dead end.

“One of the issues being considered is how many people got out of the van after the incident occurs,” Mr Rees said.

The van is seen crashing into bollards, with a single figure getting out of the driver’s door, stumbling and running off camera pursued by three people.

DC Hazel Londt, of the Metropolitan Police, told the court she had reviewed footage for eight hours and did not see anyone else inside the van.

Asked whether there was any evidence of anyone apart from Mr Osborne entering or leaving the vehicle, she replied: “No.”

Survivors of the attack previously told the court they saw only one person in the van and apprehended Mr Osborne after he allegedly attempted to flee, pinning him to the ground before police arrived.

“I’ve done my job, you can kill me now,” he allegedly told them, while smiling.

Experts concluded the van had been “intentionally steered” into a group of Muslims who had left Ramadan prayers at two nearby mosques.

They were clustered around 51-year-old Makram Ali, who had collapsed, and were waiting for an ambulance when the van struck.

A pathologist told the jury Mr Ali had not suffered a heart attack and died of “catastrophic” injuries caused by being run over.

The prosecution alleges that Mr Osborne deliberately targeted Muslims after becoming “brainwashed” in the wake of watching a television drama on the Rotherham grooming scandal and reading far-right posts.

The defendant allegedly drove from his home in Cardiff to target a pro-Palestinian march in London on 18 June but found surrounding roads closed by police and started searching for mosques in London.

Bar staff from a pub where Mr Osborne drank on the night before the attack told them he ranted about Muslims, grooming gangs, the Labour party and other topics before being told to leave.

Similar themes were addressed in a handwritten note found inside the van, which also hit out at figures including singer Lily Allen, Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London.

The trial continues.

Key Points

• Darren Osborne claims he planned attack with two men called Dave and Terry Jones
• Defendant tells jury they originally wanted to attack Rochdale politician and kill Jeremy Corbyn at pro-Palestinian march
• Mr Osborne claims Dave jumped in moving van and carried out Finsbury Park attack while he was hiding in footwell, then disappeared
• Prosecution argues Dave and Terry are 'fabrications' created on Friday in response to their case
• Mr Osborne told police on the night: 'I'm flying solo, mate', jury told
• Witnesses tell court only one person was inside van when it killed Makram Ali

[30 January 2018 12:43 · Lizzie Dearden]

We have been told that proceedings are now adjourned for lunch and will resume at 2pm

[30 January 2018 14:13 · Lizzie Dearden]

We are now back in court and Darren Osborne is taking the witnes stand.

[30 January 2018 14:18 · Lizzie Dearden]

Asked whether he was driving the van, Mr Osborne replies: "No".

Asked who was, he replied: "A guy called Dave."

[30 January 2018 14:20 · Lizzie Dearden]

Mr Osborne claims he met 'Dave' and a man called Terry Jones in the Pick and Shovel pub in Treforest and planned the attack with them.

He claims their original target was a Labour politician in Rotherham but that 'unfortunately' the plan did not go ahead and instead they decided to target the Al-Quds Day march in London

[30 January 2018 14:24 · Lizzie Dearden]

Mr Osborne admits hiring the van in Wales and driving it on the journey to London.

He claims he, Terry and Dave planned to 'cause as much damage as possible' at the Al-Quds Day March, adding: "Another reason for theAl-Quds March was that Jeremy Corbyn would be in attendance, he was a regular at that event."

[30 January 2018 14:25 · Lizzie Dearden]

He claims he kept in touch with Terry and Dave using an old Nokia 3210, adding: "I got rid of it."

The jury has heard no evidence of the phone existing or evidence from it.

[30 January 2018 14:26 · Lizzie Dearden]

Mr Osborne says road blocks and security "thwarted our plans", adding: "There was something more unusual, Jeremy Corbyn wasn't in attendance."

[30 January 2018 14:29 · Lizzie Dearden]

He says he had a "chat" with Terry and Dave and "we were going to look for maybe a mosque nearby somwhere to go and and protest, cause a bit of a stir or something maybe".

[30 January 2018 14:31 · Lizzie Dearden]

Asked why he targeted Finsbury Park, Mr Osborne says: "It was in Jeremy Corbyn's constituency, that's what gave us the idea."

[30 January 2018 14:35 · Lizzie Dearden]

Mr Osborne claims he had arranged to meet Terry and Dave in near the Finsbury Park Mosque but did not know what was going to happen and had not discussed a specific plan with them.