Finsbury Park attack trial - as it happened: Darren Osborne claims another man took wheel of van and then 'vanished like Dynamo'

Father-of-four denies being behind the wheel of van as it hit Muslim worshippers

More tributes were left yesterday to the victims of the Finsbury Park attack (AP)

The alleged Finsbury Park attacker has claimed another man ploughed a van into Muslims and then “vanished”.

Darren Osborne returned to the stand on Wednesday morning, telling the jury 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,” he told the jury.

Mr Osborne claims he, Dave and another man called Terry Jones planned to attack a pro-Palestinian march in London but that he had no knowledge of an attack in Finsbury Park and was not driving at the time.

Prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC said the defendant’s “absurd” account was a “desperate attempt” to get himself off the hook.

He denies charges of murder and attempted murder over a van ramming Muslims leaving Ramadan prayers on 19 June, which killed one man and injured nine other victims.

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Prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC accused the defendant of “fabricating” the account, which was not presented to lawyers until Friday, after hearing the evidence against him.

The defendant told the jury he met Dave and Terry in a pub in Treforest, but two managers from The Pick and Shovel previously described him as a “loner” who drank by himself.

The father-of-four said the original plan was to kill a Labour politician who allegedly wrote a reference for an abuser, but that “we just wanted more casualties”.

Mr Osborne said the next target was the Al-Quds Day march that took place in central London on 18 June, and admitted hiring the van to ram it into pro-Palestinian marchers expected to include Mr Corbyn and Mr Khan.

Mr Osborne said road blocks and security “thwarted our plans” so they decided to look for a nearby mosque and settled on Finsbury Park because it was inside Mr Corbyn’s constituency.

He said he drove there alone without a specific plan and that Dave “hopped” inside the van as it drove through a tunnel and switched into the driver’s seat shortly before the ramming.

He claimed he moved into the passenger footwell to change his trousers, adding: “All I remember is peering over the van as he turned left in the collision and I just remember the impact, it reminded me of a Hungry Hippo... and then the door opened and Dave was gone.”

While being cross-examined by Mr Rees, he said he could not explain how Dave disappeared without being caught on CCTV or seen by dozens of witnesses.

Police have found no evidence of anyone apart from Mr Osborne inside the van and said there was no point where it could have stopped in Finsbury Park to let another person get in.

Survivors told the court there was only one person inside the cab during the attack, and saw only one man – Mr Osborne – flee the vehicle afterwards.

Footage previously played to the court showed Mr Osborne telling police he was the van’s driver after being arrested and he allegedly told another officer: “I’m flying solo, mate.”

Mr Osborne claimed he decided to abruptly submit the defence statement on Friday after “a lot of soul-searching”.

He could not explain several inconsistencies between that statement and his testimony in court.

Mr Rees told him: “I suggest that Dave and Terry’s participation in these events is a total fabrication - it’s a fabrication that came about when you saw the prosecution could prove the case against you.”

Key Points

• Prosecution tells court Darren Osborne carried out attack alone out of 'hatred for Muslims'
• Jury urged to disregard 'absurd' claims a man called Dave ploughed van into crowd and disappeared
• Father-of-four 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
• 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

[31 January 2018 14:44 · Lizzie Dearden]

Mr Rees says: "He didn't say 'we had a proper go' or 'Dave had a proper go'."

The prosecutor said it "came as a bit of a surprise" when Mr Osborne claimed he was not the driver for the fist time on Friday, having previously inserted no defence statement

[31 January 2018 14:54 · Lizzie Dearden]

The prosecutor says the timing and content of the statement suggests it was a "fabrication".

"Dave didn't vanish into thin air - he was never there in the first place," he adds.

"Instead of making things better for himself, this has made it worse. I urge the jury not to let him pull the wool over your eyes."

[31 January 2018 14:59 · Lizzie Dearden]

Mr Rees says the "sad and depressing truth is that the evidence clearly shows that the defendant intended to kill as many of that group as possible".

He says Mr Osborne had already cast all Muslims as criminals and "decided to take maters into his own hands and punish them".

He contrasts the approach with that of the imam from the Muslim Welfare House, who stopped the crowd beating Mr Osborne after he was detained.

[31 January 2018 15:00 · Lizzie Dearden]

Mr Rees said the group hit had gathered to help Makram Ali after he had collapsed - "a man who had left prayers and died near his home the day after spending Fathers' Day with his family".

[31 January 2018 15:01 · Lizzie Dearden]

The prosecution's closing speech has now finished.

The judge, Justice Cheema-Grubb said she is giving the defence barrister "a bit more time" to prepare her own speech.

She is sending the jury out to return at 10.30am tomorrow.

[31 January 2018 15:07 · Lizzie Dearden]

So that's it for today, we will be live blogging again tomorrow morning, which will open with a closing speech by the defence.

That will be followed by summing up by the judge, before the jury is sent out to consider their verdict.

Thank you for reading.