The alleged Finsbury Park terror attacker’s defence team is to make a final speech to the jury as the trial draws to a close.
Darren Osborne denies charges of murder and attempted murder over the atrocity on 19 June, which killed one man and injured nine other victims.
He told Woolwich Crown Court another man, called Dave, was behind the wheel of a hired van as it was ploughed into Muslims trying to help a grandfather who collapsed while leaving prayers.
But the prosecution has dismissed his account as “absurd” and told the jury there is no evidence of anyone else being in the vehicle.
Please allow a moment for the live blog to load
Prosecutors accused Mr Osborne of conjuring his unexpected defence “out of thin air” and urged jurors to dismiss the “frankly absurd” account on Wednesday.
The father-of-four took to the stand for a second day to tell Woolwich Crown Court 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,” Mr Osborne told the jury.
The 48-year-old claims he, Dave and another man called Terry Jones planned to attack a pro-Palestinian march in London, hoping Jeremy Corbyn would attend, but were thwarted by road closures.
Mr Osborne told the court that he “wasn’t interested” in finding a new target after driving from Cardiff on 18 June and did not plan to kill Muslims in Finsbury Park, instead believing they were going to a pub.
He claimed that Dave jumped into the van in the four seconds it was not filmed on CCTV and ploughed it into a group of Muslim worshippers helping a collapsed man.
Asking how Dave allegedly took over while the van was moving at speed, Mr Osborne said he put it in neutral and “shimmied over real quick”.
He had “no answer” to a series of questions on why he supposedly decided to change his trousers in the footwell and did not pull over, adding: “We're a peculiar bunch of guys.”
Prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC said the defendant’s account was a “desperate attempt” to evade responsibility.
Closing the prosecution’s case, Mr Rees said the involvement of Dave and Terry was a “fabrication” the defendant cobbled together after hearing days of evidence against him.
Body-worn camera footage shows Mr Osborne telling police he was the van’s driver, initially claiming he lost control before later launching into a rant about Muslims, saying: “At least I had a proper go.”
A police officer who interviewed the suspect in hospital recorded him saying he was “flying solo” and that no-one else was involved in the attack.
The trial continues.
