Jury in Finsbury Park attack case convicts Darren Osborne of murder and attempted murder
Darren Osborne, 48, of Glyn Rhosyn in Cardiff, has been found guilty of murder and attempted murder in England after deliberately ploughing a van into Muslim worshippers in Finsbury Park.
A jury of eight women and four men took one hour to convict the father of four.
Osborne, who had denied both charges, nodded and looked around the courtroom as the verdicts were delivered at Woolwich Crown Court today.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb adjourned proceedings until 10.30am tomorrow for sentencing.
The UK's Crown Prosecution Service said it prosecuted the case as a terrorist offence because Osborne's actions were in order to advance a political purpose.
Following Osborne's conviction Sue Hemming, from the CPS, said: "Darren Osborne planned and carried out this attack because of his hatred of Muslims.
"He later invented an unconvincing story to counter the overwhelming weight of evidence but the jury has convicted him.
"We have been clear throughout that this was a terrorist attack, and he must now face the consequences of his actions."
Osborne will be sentenced at a later date. The prosecution will ask the court to take account of the fact that this was a terrorist act when that sentence is decided.
Nick Lowles, HOPE not hate's chief executive, said: "This case highlights the pernicious nature and danger of online hate and sadly confirms the threat from right-wing extremism, which we have long warned about.
"But it also highlights the role that far-right figures and right-wing media have played in propelling anti-Muslim hatred into the mainstream.
"We have long argued that the authorities have not properly understood the nature of anti-Muslim extremism and rhetoric and the potential impact it can have on the Darren Osbornes of this world."
"The speed with which Osborne self-radicalised was frightening - literally in just three weeks - and clearly much more needs to be done to challenge the anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant hate that exists online.
"In fact, it's beyond time for the authorities to take online hate rhetoric seriously."
Harun Khan, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain said: "The scenes we witnessed last summer were the most violent manifestation of Islamophobia yet in our country. We cannot be complacent and regard this as a one-off terrorist incident.
"We heard during the trial how Osborne was motivated by anti-Muslim groups and Islamophobic tropes not only prevalent in far right circles, but also made acceptable in our mainstream.
"The case tells us that we must all exercise caution when tempted to stigmatise any group of people, regardless of colour, creed or community.
"My condolences go out to the victims and their families.
"The survivors have conducted themselves with the utmost dignity."
