Finsbury Park attack: man ‘brainwashed by anti-Muslim propaganda’ convicted

A man “brainwashed” within a month by anti-Muslim propaganda has been found guilty of a murderous terrorist attack on worshippers leaving a mosque in London, UK triggering a complete review of the national security threat posed by the extreme right.

 

A man “brainwashed” within a month by anti-Muslim propaganda has been found guilty of a murderous terrorist attack on worshippers leaving a mosque in London, UK triggering a complete review of the national security threat posed by the extreme right.

A jury took less than an hour to be convinced that Darren Osborne, 48, drove a van into a crowd of Muslims near a mosque in Finsbury Park, north London, killing one and injuring 12.

Police believe the catalyst for Osborne’s descent into hate was his heavy consumption of internet propaganda from Tommy Robinson, the founder of the English Defence League and material from Britain First, another extremist hate group.

The case was prosecuted as a terrorist offence because Osborne’s actions were taken to advance a political purpose, a factor that was taken into account in the sentencing.