Finsbury Park Mosque worshipper recalls 2017 terror attack

This is the harrowing audio clip which reveals the horrific moment a van mowed down pedestrians outside the Finsbury Park mosque.

Darren Osborne, 48, is accused of killing Makram Ali, 51, and injuring several others after he mounted the pavement with a van he hired outside the mosque in north London, on June 19.   

The jury was played the audio of a phone call made to the London Ambulance Service, which was made when Makram Ali, 51, had fallen to the floor before the van had run into bystanders.

Midway through the clip, a loud commotion and muffling is heard with the London Ambulance Service call handler repeatedly trying to gain the attention of the caller.

The person calling the Ambulance is heard saying: ‘Hello, mate, someone has just come with a big van and run over a whole lot of people… Yeah, yeah man, a lot of people have died.

‘It was a big van, he’s just run over everyone when I was calling you.’

The imam of Finsbury Park Mosque has revealed how he stopped an angry mob from attacking the ‘terrorist’ van driver who ploughed into Muslims nearby so they could ‘hand him to police unscathed’.  

Mohammed Mahmoud, Imam at Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park, told Osborne’s trial at Woolwich Crown Court he saw ‘bodies left and right’ after the terrifying incident.

He had been leading final last prayers with another imam at the mosque, which finished around midnight, jurors heard.

The mosque leader was making a cup of tea in his office with his father, the mosque chairman, and manager when the attack unfolded.

A member of his congregation came rushing in, telling him to come outside.

He told the court he saw Makram Ali on the floor receiving CPR, and Osborne face down on the ground ‘with two or three men’ on top of him’.  

One of the worshippers knocked to the ground when father-of-four Osborne ploughed into a crowd (highlighted) outside Finsbury Park Mosque has recalled the terrifying moment in court 

As many as 15 people eventually made there way over and tried to punch him, he said.

But he desperately tried to keep people from touching him, so the police could deal with him instead.

He told the court: ‘I shouted “no one touch him.” I told people to get back, and said we are handing him in unscathed to the police.

‘It was a natural response. He posed no harm to anybody. He was immobilised. He wasn’t a threat.

‘And therefore he should answer for his crime in a court, such as this, which he is doing now, and not in a court in the street.’

The imam pushed one onlooker away after noticing he had a sort of panelling in his hands and was trying to strike Osborne with it, the court heard.

Jonathan Rees QC, prosecuting, asked: ‘How many people were seeking to strike or punch?’ 

Mr Mahmoud answered: ‘My memory is hazy, but it was from almost every direction, from 10 to 15 people.’

Mr Rees asked: ‘What sort of concerns did you have, if any, for the defendant?’

The Imam replied: ‘I was concerned that he would be harmed, he would be injured. That he would sustain injuries unfairly, unjustly or excessively.

‘And that there is a man on the floor now. He is harmless, regardless of what he did just minutes earlier.

‘There is a rule of law that must be respected and adhered to, and we shouldn’t let our emotions, we shouldn’t let our desire to seek vengeance, dictated our decisions.

‘And that he should be handed in to answer for his crime.’

He added: ‘I helped push people back. I didn’t actually help him up myself.  

Asked to describe the scene in one word, he said: ‘Chaotic.’ 

He explained the crowd did not seem to be aware of who he was until someone shouted ‘he’s the imam of the mosque’, which ‘cued them to move back’. 

The jury was played footage from a body-worn camera on PC David Jones which showed the arrested man laughing and swearing as he sat topless in handcuffs outside Islington police station hours after the incident.

The man can be heard making ‘unprompted’ remarks about the Rotherham grooming scandal, Sadiq Khan, Grenfell Tower, the Iraq war, and the Labour Party among other topics.

The footage shows Osborne laughing after appearing to speculate over how the mayor of London would respond the following day.

‘Sadiq Khan, what’s he up to tomorrow, eh?” he says, before laughing loudly.

He continued: “Don’t look back in anger, don’t look back in anger. Carry on as normal, business as usual.’

The imam pushed one onlooker backwards after he noticed he had some sort of panelling in his hands he was trying to strike Osborne with.  

A police van then arrived and he went to speak to officers.

Mr Mahmoud said: ‘I knocked on the window. He pulled his window down.

‘And I said ‘a man mowed through a group of people, and he is being restrained, and there is a crowd forming.

‘And I cannot push them all back. You need to take him now.

‘The second officer couldn’t find the keys initially to the back of the van, and things were incredibly heated.

‘And it was maybe 30 seconds to a minute, but it felt quite long.’         

One of the worshippers knocked to the ground when the father-of-four ploughed into the crowd outside the mosque recalled the terrifying moment in court.

Mohammed Geedi, 28,  told the hearing: ‘I looked at a lot of people just splattered all over the place.’

Ibrahim Benaounda, also 28, was hit by the van as well and said he could ‘feel his bones breaking’ as it rammed into him.  

Darren Osborne (court sketch), 48, is accused of killing Makram Ali and injuring several others after he mounted the pavement with a van he hired near a mosque in Finsbury Park 

He suffered rib and spinal fractures, as well as internal bleeding and an injured spleen. 

Mr Geedi said he was scared the van driver had a weapon on him after the deadly London Bridge attack just weeks before.

He told the court: ‘He was very sweaty. He looked very sweaty. Angry.’ 

The 28-year-old said he heard the van accelerating before he was hit on the left shoulder by the wing mirror and knocked backwards into an elderly woman. 

Speaking of the impact, he said: ‘I see the big white van, I can see the headlights. 

‘At the time it did not affect me…because I was panicking but there was someone behind me, I think it was an old lady, who broke her ribs. 

From the noise of the engine he claimed he could hear the driver accelerate from gear one to two to ‘pick up the pace’. 

After the crash, Osborne got out of the van and tried to escape the crowds, Mr Geedi said.   

In the moments before the van hit the crowd, Mr Geedi claimed he had seen a group of around 10 people gathered around Mr Ali who had collapsed on the floor.

He said Mr Ali’s lips were moving, adding: ‘He was reciting something and he had a little blood on the top of his head.’

Mr Geedi said after the collision Mr Ali’s t-shirt was lifted up, his stomach was out, and he had ‘tyre marks’ on his body.  

Mr Benaounda told the court he heard a ‘thud’ when Mr Ali fell to the floor.  

Makram Ali was killed and several others wounded in the north London attack on June 19 last year. Pictured is the crime scene the day after the incident 

In a statement, he said: ‘He stated that he just wanted to go home, and attempted to get up.’

He then heard revving, and a ‘vehicle coming behind me’.

Mr Benaounda added: ‘At this point I was struck with great force. 

‘It felt like being on a rollercoaster, and spinning around and around.

‘I could feel everything. I could feel my bones breaking. I had extreme pain in my stomach and pelvis area.

‘I heard what I believed to be a vehicle crash. When I opened my eyes, I noticed I was a few metres away from where I was hit.

‘I heard a lot of screaming and shouting. I remember hearing someone shouting with the words ‘kill’ and ‘Muslims’. The person who shouted this had an English accent.

‘The old man wasn’t moving. He looked lifeless. The old man was definitely alive just before the van hit him.’ 

Adnan Mohamud, who knew Mr Ali from the local area told the court: ‘He is a very friendly man, and always takes his time to say hello to you.’

Haunting images show Darren Osborne renting the van he used to allegedly plough into Muslim worshippers near a mosque

After the victim collapsed, he ‘could feel his heart beating’ and said ‘Mr Ali was breathing’.

Mr Mohamud, who was on the phone to 999 at the time, added: ‘I remember hearing a loud, high revving sound.

‘I turned to look at my friend. That’s when I saw a big white van coming towards us.

‘I remember the wheels of the van going over Mr Ali. A few people were hit, and I remember a woman being hit by the van and it sent her flying towards a wall.’

He saw a man trying to climb a fence ‘to escape’, but could not get over so ran back.

Describing the attacker, he said: ‘I remember he was very strong. Many people then came to help me detain this man.

‘Whilst this male was on the floor, I remember him saying, ‘I have done my job, you can kill me” He was smiling as he said it.

‘They took him to the police van. He was shouting something. I couldn’t make out what he was saying.

‘Something I could never forget is he was constantly smiling.

‘At this point, I knew that what he did wasn’t an accident, and it was deliberate.’

More footage taken from a pub which Osborne is said to have ‘preached racial hate’ shows him composed a letter to parliament, two days before going to London

The 999 call Mr Mohamud made was played to the court.

The operator repeatedly said ‘hello?’, after Mr Mohamud fell silent. Eventually he responded, explaining: ‘They run over a lot of people, it’s a big van, he has just run over everyone’.  

Somalian bus driver Mahad Mohamed Ismail, 26, who was brought up in the UK also gave evidence.

He claims he has been ‘traumatised’ by what happened that night and has regular nightmares. 

He said: ‘As the van drove into the road, I could hear the engine revving.

‘The van was driving at approximately 20mph. It was revving its engine as it ran into the people.

‘The van just ploughed at the people. I don’t know how many or who was hit by the van. There were people underneath the van as it headed towards us.

‘It was revving. The driver had his foot flat down on the accelerator.

‘We could see people underneath the van.’

In more footage, the white van (boxed) driven by Osborne is seen passing Lewisham Islamic Centre

He added: ‘Since the attack I have been traumatised and having nightmares. I feared for my life.’

Nouredine Bidi, 41, told the court: ‘I was panicked and shocked as to what had just happened.

‘I could now see three people close to me lying in the road. 

‘The man who had previously collapsed was in the same place. Two men had been knocked over, and their faces were bloody.’

He continued: ‘This man appeared to be very strong, and behaving aggressively. He was pushing people away from him with a lot of force.

‘About three or four people tried to grab him. More and more people came to grab him. 

‘The man was strong, and dragged all of them into the bus lane of the Seven Sisters Road.

‘Eventually he was detained. People began to kick and punch him, because they were angry with what he had done.

CCTV footage captured the moment just before the father-of-four ‘deliberately’ ploughed his rental van into Muslim worshippers near a mosque

‘An Imam came and told them to stop. As he was put into the van, the driver appeared to be scowling.’

Police have now released footage that unveils Osborne’s movements in the two days leading up to the incident, including one video that shows his van seconds before it crashes into pedestrians.

Two images also show Osborne renting the van from a firm in Cardiff before he drove to London, where he asked for directions to the nearest mosque, prosecutors say.

CCTV from later in the day was taken from a pub – where Osborne is said to have ‘preached racial hate’ – and shows him composing a note that was found in the van.

The ‘hate letter’, written at the Hollybush Pub in Pentwyn, near Cardiff, branded Jeremy Corbyn a ‘terrorist sympathiser’ and Sadiq Khan a ‘disgrace’.

He is seen writing on paper as he sits at a table, before heading back to the bar, where he is later ushered away by the landlord.

Jurors then saw footage, recorded a day later, of victim Makram Ali collapsing shortly before a van drives into the group, which had flocked to his aid.

In the footage, a white van turns sharply left, mounts the curb and ploughs into the group of people, some of which later spill onto the nearby bus lane.

Osborne spoke to several people on his way through London to ask directions to the nearest mosque, claiming he was in the city to attend ‘a protest’.

Andrew Sutherland explained how he met Osborne outside a co-op in Forest Hill, south east London at about 8pm on June 18.

He said Osborne asked him ‘where the nearest mosque was located’.

Darren Osborne is accused of a van attack on a group of Muslims in Finsbury Park, killing one. A court heard today he received a message from Britain First deputy Jayda Frasen (right)

Mr Sutherland added: ‘Taken aback by the question, I took a step back.

‘The male could see I was surprised, and said ‘it’s okay, I am here for a protest’. I told him there were no mosques in the area. I could see he was very agitated.’

Later that night, at 11pm, Osborne met engineer Cecil Pond by the Blackwell Tunnel who gave him directions.

In a statement, Mr Pond added: ‘He said he wanted directions for Finsbury Park. This male was sweating and he looked nervous.’

Osborne followed him, and as they drove through Hackney, Mr Pond indicated where he should go.

Mr Pond added: ‘I felt very unhappy, because all I had done was give him directions.’

After arriving in the area, Osborne asked Jamie Berridge where the Finsbury Park mosque was.

Mr Berridge said he asked him why he wanted to go there, adding: ‘He said there’s going to be some sort of protest.’

Woolwich Crown Court yesterday heard how the 48-year-old had received messages from far-right parties in the days and weeks before the incident. 

Footage shows Osborne heading into the Hollybush Pub in Pentwyn, near Cardiff, where he bought a drink and wrote a letter

Osborne is seen asking a bartender for a pen, before he sits down at a table and writes a letter 

Osborne is seen crossing the road outside the Lewisham Muslim Centre in the hours before the incident in Finsbury Park

Makram Ali was killed in the incident. Osborne, pictured in a court sketch, denies murder 

Jurors were taken through a timeline of internet activity on two iPhones and Osborne’s daughter’s iPad, which were seized from his address.

In the two weeks before the incident, he carried out searches on Google into Britain First’s deputy leader Jayda Fransen, and its leader Paul Golding, including looking at their Twitter accounts, the court heard.

Britain First were described in court as a ‘far-right, ultra nationalist’ organisation.

They recently gained publicity when President Trump retweeted three inflammatory videos posted by Ms Fransen.

Osborne received an email from Twitter on June 3 to complete his account, and a message from Jayda Fransen the same day, the court heard.

What did Darren Osborne write in his ‘hate letter’?

Darren Osborne stands in court (pictured)

Below is a transcript of the letter written by Darren Osborne, read out in court by Jonathan Rees QC:

Why are their terrorists on our streets today? Weve had 3 Recent terror attacks, our children splattered against the walls of concerts, part n parcel by all accounts, Mr Sadiq Khan, no it isn’t how you can let this happen, terrorists marching through our capital city, you’re a disgrace where was the public outrage after 1400 of our white british none muslim girls?

Where were you in Rotherham Lily allen Jeremy Corby nowhere to be seen, Just thinking about how many more inbred migrants you can bring into the country, the local harbour map of Rotherham mr Hussain wrote of character Reference For one of the rapists in court, really now, hang on a minute am I missing something here, where was you all, Jez & lil?

Don’t you fancy getting involved in that the only protest within the muslim community were when taxi drivers were asked to put cctv in their cars, seriously your taking the piss, mr Hussain has been promoted.

Don’t people get it, this is happening up and down our Green and pleasant land, Ferrel inbred raping muslim men hunting in packs preying on our children, this will be coming to a town near you soon, it most probably has, get back to the desert, you raping inbred bastards & climb back on ya camels. people don’t be swayed by corbyn & his Free packed lunch, & uni fees think of your childrens future, islams ideology doesn’t belong here & neither does Sharia law.

So mr Sadiq Khan how are you this morning?

I’d imagine your gonna have a hard job keeping your happy go lucky vibrant city in order, Part n parcel of living in a big city, carry on as normal, bk to ya day Jobs, what about you Jez?

Mr terrorist sympathiser, or should I call you harold, “you dirty old man” put that in ya pipe, & have some sympathy for me, well Folkes gotta go busy day today.

Remember peaceful vigils only & please dont look back in anger, God Save the Queen.

The ‘hate letter’ branded Labour leader Corbyn a ‘terrorist sympathiser’ and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan a ‘disgrace’

Jonathan Rees QC, prosecuting, said: ‘Jayda Fransen sends a direct Twitter message. We can see it’s scheduled as from Jayda Fransen to Darren Osborne.

‘Hot on the heels of receiving that message from Jayda Fransen on Twitter, there is the London Bridge, Borough Market terrorist attack.’

On June 4, he searched for Tommy Robinson, the co-founder and former spokesman of the English Defence League, Woolwich Crown Court was told.

Osborne also received a message from former EDL leader Tommy Robinson in the build-up to the alleged attack, a court heard

He also searched for Jayda Fransen, including her tweet about the London Bridge attack, as well as researching Mr Golding on ‘similar topics’.

Articles about Fusilier Lee Rigby’s murder and the Manchester bombing had also been looked at.

Two days later, there was material accessed about Muslims apparently celebrating an attack, and searches about about Islamic State supporters celebrating the Manchester attack online.

He also searched for Alex Jones and his website Infowars, described as a ‘conspiracy theory and fake news website’, the court was told.

That night, there was a search for ‘which party wants to bring back the death penalty’.

Other topics searched were about Rochdale, including its mayor, local MPs and MEPs, and its former MP Simon Danczuk.

Osborne later received a message in the name of Tommy Robinson encouraging him to take part in a rally in Manchester on June 11, it was said.

The email in the name of Tommy Robinson referred to the Manchester Arena suicide bombing on May 22, stating: ‘What Salman Abedi did isn’t the beginning, it won’t be the end.

‘There’s a nation within a nation forming. It’s a nation built on hatred, violence, and Islam.

‘It’s now been left to us, the ordinary people of the UK, to stand against hatred, and with one voice to say no more.

‘That’s why on Sunday the 11th of June, we will stand together in Manchester in opposition to hate. We will rally to demand action. We will make ourselves impossible to ignore.’

He also received a message on June 14 asking, ‘Darren, will you help me get justice’, about a campaign for a woman said to have been raped ‘by a gang of men’ in Sunderland. Both ended ‘yours truly, Tommy Robinson’, the court heard.

There were further searches for Tommy Robinson on June 17.

Mr Rees said: ‘That was the day on which Mr Osborne picked up the van. Having picked up the van, those tweets and web searches follow that. Google searches for Tommy Robinson.’

This included a tweet from Mr Robinson replying to someone, saying, ‘you anarchist why didn’t you point fingers after Manchester. Instead celebrities said let’s love each other’.

Another of his tweets referred to ‘anger when the Muslims bomb our kids, we were told not to look back in anger’, the court heard. 

Osborne also searched for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, and his comment about being prepared for terror attacks ‘part and parcel of living in a major city’, it was said.

This was the scene in Finsbury Park following the incident after 12.15am on June 19 last year

He searched for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and references to ‘Mr Corbyn’s low political ploy of playing on the anger of Grenfell Tower victims’, the court heard.

Before visiting the Hollybush pub on June 17, he searched for Mr Khan and Mr Robinson.

This included looking at a tweet by Mr Robinson saying, ‘where was the day of rage after the terrorist attacks? All I saw was lighting candles’.

Osborne, of Cardiff, denies murder and attempted murder. The trial continues. 

‘Attacker’ ranted in pub in Cardiff before leaving for London, jury told 

The court heard Osborne spoke loudly about terrorism and Muslims at the Hollybush Pub in Pentwyn, near Cardiff, on the evening of June 17, the day before he allegedly travelled to London.

Soldier Callum Spence said Osborne made comments including ‘Muslims are all terrorists’, ‘I’m going to kill all Muslims’ and that he would ‘take it into his own hands’.

Mr Spence, a Royal Engineer, told the court: ‘He was pretty mumbling, but I heard him saying ‘all our families are going to be Muslim. They are all going to be terrorists’. Things like that.’

Woolwich Crown Court heard Darren Osborne ranted about Muslims in this Cardiff pub

The defendant also claimed to be a soldier but did not know the phonetic alphabet used by the military, and was ‘flinging his arms around’, Mr Spence added.

In a statement read to the jury, Angelo Lamberti, assistant manager of the pub, said Osborne was asked by Mr Spence what regiment he belonged to.

He said: ‘I heard the odd male tell the soldier that he was also a soldier. The soldier asked him what regiment he was in, to which he replied, ‘you will find out tomorrow’.’

Osborne, who was asked to leave the Hollybush, is also said to have written a letter to Parliament while at the pub and to have told a member of staff, ‘there is a lot of raping and pillaging out there’.