Man in custody after Finsbury Park terror attack
This live blog is closing now. Below is a summary of the day’s events:
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One person died and 11 were injured in the early hours of Monday morning after a van was driven into a crowd of Muslim worshippers in Finsbury Park, in north London. Police said the man who died was already being treated for an unrelated ailment and they are still investigating whether or not his death was related to the attack. Of those who were injured, nine were taken to hospital and two were treated for minor injuries at the scene.
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The victims were all Muslims and the incident was declared a terror attack on the Muslim population. Witnesses said the driver shouted: “I want to kill all Muslims”, before onlookers pinned him to the ground. He was protected from a crowd by an Imam and other men, who have been credited with saving his life.
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A 47-year-old man was arrested by police on suspicion of attempted murder and of a terror offence. He was later named by family and neighbours as Darren Osborne, a man who has previously expressed hatred of Muslims. He was not know to the security services, the government announced.
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Relatives of Osborne expressed sorrow at what happened. “We are massively shocked; it’s unbelievable, it still hasn’t really sunk in. We are devastated for the families, our hearts go out to the people who have been injured,” a statement read.
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A vigil was held for the victims in Finsbury Park on Monday evening, during which leaders of various faiths expressed solidarity. Muslim leaders reacted with shock, condemnation and calls for security at mosques to be stepped up. Many also said the backdrop of the attack was rising Islamophobia.
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Both the home secretary, Amber Rudd, and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, wrote articles in the Guardian saying that this was an attack on all of Britain. The prime minister, Theresa May, said the attack on Muslims was “every bit as insidious and destructive to our values and our way of life” as recent terror attacks motivated by Islamist extremism. Later, she attended an interfaith meeting at Finsbury Park mosque and was heckled as she left.
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The Labour leader and local MP, Jeremy Corbyn, spent much of the early morning at Muslim Welfare House, where the attack took place. He said: “I see it this is a terror on the streets … in the communities … We have to all reach out and feel their pain and their stress.”
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The Met police commissioner, Cressida Dick, promised extra protection for Muslim communities. She said: “People in Muslim communities attending prayers will see their police protecting them in the coming days and nights.”
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White supremacists celebrated the attack, according to the US extremist monitoring group Site. It also said pro-Islamic State channels were using reports of the incident to incite Muslims.
You can read the Guardian’s full report below:
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The Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick, joined the vigil in Finsbury Park this evening.
Following a meeting with the chairman of the mosque, Mohammed Kozbar, she stood with him to observe a short silence. And, as he addressed the large crowd that had gathered, he praised the “great response” from the community.
Yesterday we all experienced a horrific attack on our families, on our freedom, on our dignity. A man, a father of six children, being killed in cold blood and many injured by an extremist, by a terrorist.
He said the attack was one of terror and that it was “similar” to those which have recently happened in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge.
These people, these extremists, their aim is to divide our communities, is to spread hatred, fear and division among our communities.
We all have harmony in this area, and these people try to divide us, but we tell them that we will not let you do that.
As Kozbar finished speaking, there were cheers and shouts of Allahu Akbar from the people, with many holding signs which said “united against all terror”.
Other faith leaders from the community also spoke at the vigil, including the Bishop of Stepney the Rt Rev Adrian Newman, who told the crowd “an attack on one faith is an attack on us all”.
Rabbi Herschel Gluck said the incident hurt and was an attack on “every single Muslim in the UK and beyond”. He told the crowd:
But really an attack on the Muslim community is an attack on every single citizen in Great Britain, because we are one nation, under one god, living together, working together, co-operating together in this country.
Some images are coming through from tonight’s vigil in Finsbury Park:
In a statement on behalf of his family, Darren Osborne’s nephew Ellis Osborne, 26, has said: “We are massively shocked; it’s unbelievable, it still hasn’t really sunk in. We are devastated for the families, our hearts go out to the people who have been injured.”
Ellis Osborne added his uncle was “not a racist” and said he had never expressed any racist views. He added: “Its madness. It is obviously sheer madness.”
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A vigil is being held outside the Finsbury Park mosque - around the corner from the scene of last night’s attack.
Big crowd now at vigil for #FinsburyParkattack pic.twitter.com/E2F93Sz3Et
— Julia Rampen (@JuliaRampenMM) June 19, 2017
Vigil outside Finsbury Park mosque. pic.twitter.com/RDn6T73hoR
— Liam O'Hare (@Liam_O_Hare) June 19, 2017
The mother of the suspected Finsbury Park terror attacker has spoken of her shock. In an interview with ITV News, she said she found out about her son’s arrest via the television.
Asked what she thought when that happened, Christine Osborne said: “Oh God... you just can’t imagine.” Breaking down in tears, she added: “I just can’t talk about it, I just don’t know.” She said the last time she saw him was about a month ago.
Asked if he had ever expressed extremist views or behaviour, Christine Osborne said: “No, none whatsoever. Nothing at all.” She described her son as being a “complex” person but said “that’s all I can say”. She said:
I’m not going to defend him, but he’s my son and it’s a terrible, terrible shock.
It’s not just robbing a bank, it’s an atrocity. And at this moment in time, I can’t cope with it, I can’t. I don’t want to say anything more.
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The home secretary, Amber Rudd, has said the Finsbury Park attack was “another attack on Britain” that, similar to other recent tragedies, “unites us all in grief and anger”. Writing for the Guardian, Rudd said:
We must not let hate win. It is vital, now more than ever, that we stand together and do not allow people who seek to use hate to divide us to succeed.
I have been saddened to see suggestions that this cowardly crime is not being dealt with in the same way as the Westminster Bridge, Manchester or London Bridge attacks. Let there be no doubt this attack is every bit as horrifying as the others we have seen. Our grief is no less raw. When this van targeted innocent people tending to a man who had been taken ill, police were on the scene and responded within one minute. Within eight minutes they had declared it a terrorist attack.
Police have revised the casualty figures from the attack: They now say nine people were taken to hospital and two people were treated at the scene for minor injuries. Scotland Yard had previously given the former figure as eight.
Darren Osborne’s sister, Nicola, has said she is “very sorry for what’s happened”, the Press Association reports.
She spoke outside a house in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, where relatives of the suspected Finsbury Park attacker gathered on Monday afternoon. She declined to give a surname and she and other family members said they would not be issuing further statements at the moment.
The street, which is two rows of terraces near the town centre, was busy with journalists and groups of young people standing around talking about what had happened.
One neighbour, who did not give her name, said she knew Osborne’s mother but “did not know Darren at all”.
Another neighbour said Osborne had not lived there for 10 years and that he had a “family and children in Cardiff”.
Others said they did not know the family at all, with one saying most people on the street kept themselves to themselves.
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The Muslim next-door neighbours of Osborne alleged he had racially abused their son at the weekend.
Khadijh Sherazi said she had never had any problems with him or his family until this weekend. But her 12-year-old son, Nadeem, said:
I was on my bike and he just came up to me and said ‘in-bred’. Just out there [on the road]. It was just a normal voice. He just said it.
His sister, Nadia, 10, said she also heard what Osborne said.
Me and my nan were sat on the deck. She was putting the washing out. All of a sudden we heard him say ‘in-bred’. I said to my nan: ‘Did you hear that?’ She said it was probably to his dogs.
The children’s mother said it had not been said in an angry tone. She continued:
We didn’t think nothing of it. He seemed a normal bloke, a normal family, normal kids, happy go lucky. I would see him out walking with his two spaniels. He would also shout quite a lot but the kids seemed happy. I wouldn’t have said he was someone with mental problems.
Asked about the attack in Finsbury Park, she said: “It’s shocking, me being Muslim. If I go out some places are racist. I get called batman. You think, get a life. This guy didn’t show any signs of being racist.”
Sherazi describes herself as a white Muslim, who was born in Cardiff and speaks with a Welsh accent. Her children were born in Cardiff. Their father is originally from Pakistan.
The family said Osborne had a large family who would often visit. He set up a gazebo in the garden as the spell of hot weather came in and was seen arriving with bottles of vodka as if he was going to hold a party. They said they heard him singing in his garden.
“He seemed happy enough,” said Sherazi.
The street where Osborne lives is a cul-de-sac of red brick semis and terraces. Osborne is believed to live with partner Sarah Andrews, 42, a chef at the Black Griffin pub in the nearby leafy suburb of Lisvane.
Neighbours said Osborne and Andrews had separated in recent months, and said he would often shout at her in the street.
Pharmacist Rebecca Carpenter, 26, said Osborne was “quite a shouty person, always shouting at his wife and kids”.
He always seemed an aggressive and strange person. He drove around in an old car that was always damaged.
He never caused us any real problems, but we could often hear him shouting from the other side of the street.
None of us have ever really spoken to him but we recognised him straight away when we saw him on the telly this morning.
Another neighbour said: “I actually heard him singing in the street yesterday – weird really. I never knew what he did for a living but Sarah is a hard worker.”
Stephanie Kibble, 21, another neighbour who lives two doors down, said she never had a problem with Osborne.
I only knew him to say hello to but he was always friendly enough.
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Red Cross providing assistance after Finsbury Park mosque attack
The British Red Cross has sent three volunteers to provide “practical and emotional support” to those affected by the attack and those who cannot return to their homes because of the police cordon.
The charity’s chief executive, Mike Adamson, said the team may be required to assist overnight and urged the public to help the relief effort with donations to the specialist fund for victims of UK terror attacks.
As a nation we continue to face a trying and difficult time but our humanity continues to unite us. People will want to know how they can help and show that unity with one another at this time.
Donations are welcome to the UK Solidarity Fund which we launched earlier this month for victims of terror attacks in the UK, and which we will be making available to support those who have been affected by this latest horrific incident.
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***important information*** tonight there will be a vigil for peace and unity at #FinsburyParkMosque after last night's attack pic.twitter.com/pXNNwIr4sy
— HOPE not hate (@hopenothate) June 19, 2017
A vigil will be held tonight at Finsbury Park mosque for the person killed in the attack as well as the injured, coordinated by Faiths Forum for London, with other smaller vigils taking place across the capital.
Faith leaders from across Wales are also meeting at Dar Ul-Isra mosque in Cardiff at 8.45pm to make a human chain wall as an act of solidarity with the Muslim community.
Organised by Citizens UK, faith leaders in attendance will include Peggy Jackson, the archdeacon of Llandaff, and Rabbi Rose of Cardiff United synagogue.
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The Guardian’s Nesrine Malik has written a piece on Sunday night’s attack.
It wasn’t a surprise to those of us who recognise that Islamophobia, in print or over the airwaves, can have real-world consequences
We have been conditioned to think of extremists as other than us, of terrorists as angry, dark-skinned men, of hate preachers as bearded clerics, of enablers as the silent Muslims who will not condemn the actions of their few. But it is time to also see those who attack Muslims not as anomalies or crazed individuals, but as products of a climate that has incited and normalised their hatred.
East London mosque has an update after the building was evacuated after a bomb threat, now believed to have been a hoax.
The Mosque received a telephone threat a short while ago. Buildings were evacuated and sweeps carried out by Police and Mosque staff. 1/2
— East London Mosque (@elondonmosque) June 19, 2017
While we understand this incident to be a hoax, we still urge vigilance in our community. 2/2
— East London Mosque (@elondonmosque) June 19, 2017
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Labour MP Jo Stevens has issued an appeal for information after the alleged attacker was named as Darren Osborne, a resident of her Cardiff Central constituency.
Stevens said it was “deeply concerning” that Osborne had lived in her constituency and urged users of social media to take care their comments did not prejudice any forthcoming criminal trial.
I am appealing to anyone who may have relevant information about the attack to let the police know immediately.
I am also appealing to everyone who uses social media, to please be aware that prejudicial tweets about the alleged attacker may constitute contempt of court, and could even lead to any prosecution or trial having to be abandoned.
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The anti-fascist campaign group Hope not Hate has said it fears the UK is entering a cycle of “tit-for-tat violence… where the extremes feed off one another, and terror attack propels terror attack”.
The organisation, which campaigns against the far right, said the sheer number of events meant “there can feel a dangerous sense of inevitability to all this”.
"It is time to remove the oxygen on which hate feeds online.” –@lowles_nick #FinsburyPark https://t.co/00Ax6YoHA7 pic.twitter.com/FvWetIhQtF
— HOPE not hate (@hopenothate) June 19, 2017
Hope not Hate, one of the co-organisers of the Great Get Together in memory of murdered MP Jo Cox, said the authorities needed to take further action against non-violent extremists who incite both far-right and Islamist-inspired violence.
The agendas of the Islamist extremists who carried out the Manchester and London Bridge attacks differ little from the far-right extremists who set out to target Muslims.
Both share a belief that Muslims and non-Muslims cannot live peacefully together and both use the existence of the other to justify their own warped world view.
The charity’s chief executive, Nick Lowles, said they would work to continue to deny platforms to extremists.
No community entire, no ‘people’, are to blame for the actions of a few. Muslims are not ‘taking over’, nor are Islamophobic extremists. It can be lost in the miasma of blame and smear that, in fact, the vast majority of the country rejects all extremes.
Today it is vital we show solidarity to those under attack, but in the longer term this is not enough. As a society we need to be more proactive and find better ways to defeat those who want to destroy our lives.
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This is Jessica Elgot taking over the live blog now for the rest of the afternoon. I’ve just arrived back from a briefing at Downing Street after the prime minister visited Finsbury Park mosque.
No 10 gave a strong hint to reporters that new anti-terror measures to tackle online extremism – including far-right radicalisation – could be in the Queen’s speech on Wednesday.
Last week, May announced a UK-French initiative to explore creating a new legal liability for tech companies if they fail to remove inflammatory content, which could include penalties such as fines.
May also pledged during the election campaign that the government would develop tools with tech companies to crack down on online extremism.
On Monday, after May met community leaders in Finsbury Park following the van attack on worshippers leaving the mosque, Downing Street said the reforms were a priority for the government
“Extremism takes many forms and she has spelled out as a couple of weeks ago that we have plans to crack down on extremism, there is extremism on the internet of all kinds and we’ll be focusing on extremism of all kinds,” the prime minister’s spokesman said
“She was very clear that we are going to bring this work forward and we are going to focus on all forms of extremism.”
Downing Street would not commit to the final package being announced in the Queen’s speech however. “We are going to bring forward this work soon,” the spokesman said.
May is chairing a Cobra meeting this afternoon to be updated on the investigation into the attack, we’re expecting information from that later this evening.
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Finsbury Park attack suspect named
The Finsbury Park mosque attack suspect is understood to be Darren Osborne, a 47-year old living in Cardiff, Robert Booth, Steven Morris and Ian Cobain write.
The alleged attacker, who reportedly shouted “I want to kill all Muslims”, is reportedly a married father of four whose family are reported to be based in Weston-super-Mare. Police were on Monday searching an address in a cul-de-sac in the Llanedeyrn area, close to Cardiff golf club, in the north-east of the city suburbs.
Osborne was arrested by police on suspicion of attempted murder following the attack at shortly after midnight Monday.
Neighbours told of their shock after seeing pictures of Osborne being arrested by police.
Dave Ashford, 52, said: “Someone called me and said it was him and I said ‘It can’t be’. Then I saw the picture on the news and said, it’s him’.”
Pauline Tibbs, 48, said: “The police have been back and forward here all day. It’s a terrible shock. I’ve seen him walking in the street but never spoken to him.”
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There is a discrepancy in the age of the man arrested. The police previously said he was 48 years old and have now corrected that to 47. He has not yet been named.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says the Finsbury Park attack was aimed at “us all – our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect”. Writing for the Guardian, he says:
We don’t yet know the full motivations behind it, but terrorism is terrorism – no matter the target and regardless of what inspires the sick and twisted perpetrators who carry out these evil crimes.
Arrested man now held on terror offences
The man arrested last night over the Finsbury Park attack is now being held on suspicion of terror offences, Scotland Yard says.
The 47-year-old was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and was subsequently further arrested for the “commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism including murder and attempted murder”.
Counter-terror police are appealing for witnesses following the terror attack on Seven Sisters Road, in north London.
Police said they were called at 00.21 and declared they were treating the incident as a terror attack within eight minutes. They said eight people were injured and that the attack happened while a man was receiving first aid after being taken ill nearby. That man subsequently died and police said they were “continuing to establish whether there is any link between his death and the attack”.
Police said they believe the “suspect acted alone but we are of course investigating all the circumstances leading up to the attack”. Officers added that searches are being carried out at a residential address in the Cardiff area. The Met’s deputy assistant commissioner, Neil Basu, said:
Our thoughts are with all those affected by the incident at Seven Sisters Road and their families, friends and communities.
This is being treated as a terrorist incident and is being investigated by the Counter Terrorism Command. The investigation is ongoing and we are working fast to know the full details of how and why this took place.
All the victims were from the Muslim community and we will be deploying extra police patrols to reassure the public, especially those observing Ramadan.
We are working hard to protect all communities and the public will see additional officers patrolling across the city and at Muslim places of worship. This was an attack on London and all Londoners. We should all stand together against extremists whatever their cause.
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Weyman Bennett, the head of Unite Against Fascism, said Finsbury Park mosque has been threatened or attacked at least twice in recent years.
“It was one of the mosques to be sent white powder last year, and two years ago it was targeted with a makeshift petrol bomb. There’s been a consistent attempt by people to attack the mosque. I think it’s a consequence of increasing Islamophobia.”
There had been a little-noticed increase in attacks on the Muslim community recently, he said, partly due to how reporting of recent terror attacks had been “framed around the narrative of Islam”.
He added: “I also think Theresa May’s language after the last London attacks was inflammatory … she said there were safe spaces that we tolerate and specifically, she talked about tearing up the Human Rights Act as if they [the terrorists] were being protected by the Muslim community.” This rhetoric had “poisoned” the election, he said.
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Shaukat Warraich from Faith Associates, which trains mosques in charity governance and security plans, has been speaking to my colleague Damien Gayle outside the Finsbury Park mosque about the growing threat faced by Muslim communities in the UK. Warraich said:
We have spoken to people that have left the far right and the far right have openly told us that they see mosques as easy targets. They have been surveilling mosques, watching them, seeing what time they pray. Especially if there is a pub across the road, they have been watching them.
Mosques are easy targets because they are not protected. There is no security, like Jewish people who have security guards on the door; mosques are very open buildings.
We have met people who said,. ‘When we were in the far right we were looking for ways to attack mosques.’
Warraich said that many Islamophobic incidents went unreported.
People are saying it’s a small issue, let’s not make a big deal about it. People will throw a piece of bacon over the fence … We are advising that everything that happens you must report it, it’s important that local police build up a picture.
"Mosques are easy targets because they're not protected." Shaukat Warraich of @FaithAssociates, which advises mosques on security pic.twitter.com/cIDtNEDiGJ
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) June 19, 2017
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The faiths forum for London is organising a vigil at the Finsbury Park mosque this evening.
#finsburypark for those wanting to stand in solidarity @LondonFaiths @hopenothate pic.twitter.com/VxfSQBLXi2
— Safya Khan-Ruf (@safyark) June 19, 2017
The National Front in Wales has denied any connection with the Finsbury Park suspected attacker, after it emerged the suspect hired the van used in the attack from Pontyclun in south Wales, according to my colleague Robert Booth.
In response to an inquiry from the Guardian, the Welsh regional organiser of the far-right party, Adam Lloyd, described him as a “lunatic” but said: “The man in question is not known to any of us here in South Wales National Front, and to our knowledge is not and never has been a member.”
However, Lloyd added: “Although we will never condone or accept this kind of violent attacks here in SWNF, anyone with a right mind can see this is not a terrorist attack but a revenge attack.
“Incidents like this are only going to increase as two different cultures clash thanks to the failed multicultural and multiracial experiment forced on us by successive corrupt governments.”
Lloyd stood for election to Bridgend council in May, but came last with only 21 votes.
Updated
My colleague Vikram Dodd has just sent news of a bomb scare at another mosque in London.
East London mosque has been evacuated after a bomb scare. They have just been given the all clear after police investigated. It shows the level of anxiety in British Muslim communities after the Finsbury Park attack.
Updated
What we know so far
- Police have confirmed they are investigating a terror attack in London after a van ploughed into people near a north London mosque, leaving one person dead and injuring eight others. A 48-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, and two of those hit by the van were said to be “very seriously injured”.
- Witnesses said the driver had shouted: “I want to kill all Muslims” before onlookers pinned him to the ground. The suspect was protected by a local imam after being pinned down by members of the Muslim community.
- Imam Mohammed Mahmoud described how he helped protect the attacker from an angry mob. “Some tried to hit him, either kicks or punches. By God’s grace we manage to surround him and to protect him from any harm,” he said.
- Theresa May has vowed that “hatred and evil” of the kind seen in the attack on a north London mosque will never succeed. May said that the attack on Muslims was “every bit as insidious and destructive to our values and our way of life” as the recent string of terror attacks apparently motivated by Islamist extremism.
- Later the prime minister attended an interfaith meeting at Finsbury Park mosque. She was heckled as she left.
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The Labour leader and local MP, Jeremy Corbyn, spent much of the early morning at Muslim Welfare House, where the attack took place. He said: “I see it this is a terror on the streets … in the communities … We have to all reach out and feel their pain and their stress.”
- Police said it was too early to state if the man who died at the scene was killed in the attack. He was being helped when the van ploughed into pedestrians, and had regained consciousness when the van hit, according Imam Mahmoud. All of the victims of the attack, including two who are in a critical condition, are from the Muslim community.
- The Met commissioner Cressida Dick has promised extra protection for Muslim communities in the coming days. She said: “People in Muslim communities attending prayers will see their police protecting them in the coming days and nights.”
- The suspected attacker, who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, was not known to the the authorities, according to the security minister, Ben Wallace. The van involved in the attack is marked with the livery of the hire company, which is based on an industrial estate close to the M4 12 miles west of Cardiff.
- White supremacists have celebrated the attack, according to the US extremist monitoring group Site. It also said pro-Islamic State channels were using reports of the incident to incite Muslims.
- Muslim leaders have reacted with shock, condemnation and calls for security at mosques to be stepped up. Many also said the backdrop of the attack was rising Islamophobia. Support also came from Christian, Jewish and Sikh leaders.
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Jeremy Corbyn has made his way upstairs to the Finsbury Park mosque where he was due to attend prayers. Greeting a religious leader on the way, he said: “We are the voice of love. We are one love.”
"We are the voice of love; one love." @jeremycorbyn at #FinsburyPark mosque after the #FinsburyParkTerroristAttack pic.twitter.com/27WEAo7yRB
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) June 19, 2017
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Imam Mahmoud added the man who was killed in the attack had regained consciousness before the van struck.
He said:
I had just finished leading prayer and around five minutes after we finished prayers, a brother came in quite panicked and said that somebody had run over a group of people and tried to kill them.
We found around 15 to 20 people on the scene attending to the injured and administrating CPR on the brother who is now deceased. As far as I know the deceased collapsed and then people came to tend to him. They bought him a chair to sit down. He regained consciousness and as he regained consciousness the van drove perpendicular to Seven Sisters Road. It wasn’t that [the van] mounted the curb by accident, it was deliberate. He drove at 90 degree angle. It was enough to make people fly off to the side and he dragged two people underneath him. One of whom we are worried that he may be paralysed for life, because he couldn’t move his arms and legs and said he couldn’t feel them.
He added: “This community of ours is a calm community, not known for their violence. Our mosques are incredibly peaceful. I can assure you we will do our utmost to calm down ill intentions.”
Imam 'protected attacker from mob'
Imam Mohammed Mahmoud has described how he protected the attacker from an angry mob, after he was pinned down at the scene.
Speaking to reporters he said:
We arrived at the scene within minutes and we found the assailant on the floor. He had been restrained by around three people. We found a group of people quickly started to collect around the assailant. And some tried to hit him, either kicks or punches. By God’s grace we manage to surround him and to protect him from any harm. We stopped all forms of attack and abuse towards him that were coming from every angle.
A police van drove past so we flagged them down we told them the situation. There’s a man he’s restrained. He mowed down a group of people and there’s a mob attempting to hurt him.
Mahmoud, who is imam at the Muslim Welfare Centre, said the attacker was unharmed by the crowd. He added: “We pushed the people back. He didn’t say a word. It wasn’t me alone. There was a group of brothers.
“He seemed calmed. I just heard he said ‘I did my bit’. It is a tragic and barbaric terrorist attack.”
Updated
May heckled as she left mosque
As Theresa May left the Finsbury Park mosque she was heckled by a man standing among the media scrum who shouted: “Mrs May, how can you be so quick today?”
He added: “Mrs May, have you had a faster taxi?” in reference to her perceived slowness to meet the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire last week.
A small crowd of protesters from Islington Stand Up To Racism also
chanted at her from over the road.
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Met pledges extra police protection for Muslim communities
The Met commissioner Cressida Dick has promised extra protection for Muslim communities in the coming days.
Speaking at the scene, she said: “This was quite clearly an attack on Muslims who looked like they were probably Muslims and they were coming from a prayer meeting.
“We treat this as a terrorist attack. We in the Met are as shocked as anybody in this local community or across the country. We take all kinds of hate crime or violent extremism incredibly serious and wherever we possibly can, prevent attacks. And if we cannot prevent an attack then we will seek, obviously, to bring people to justice.
“This is as, her majesty said, a sombre time and last night has added to that sombreness.
“But in relation to the Met it does nothing other than strengthen our resolve to get our there, prevent attacks and protect our communities. And the people in Muslim communities attending prayers will see their police protecting them in the coming days and nights.”
Dick added:
This is a highly integrated, truly diverse and multicultural place. The relationships between the police and community here are very important to us, and are mostly very good indeed.
I’ve just come from a meeting of people of 20 faiths all from the local communities, who are saying, as I say, ‘the people who perpetrate attacks like this think they will not break our society down and cause division between us, and they won’t do that and they won’t win’.
This is very resilient city and very, very resilient set of communities.
My police officers responded here within a minute and we had a large presence within 10 minutes. We have also responded to other attacks over the last few weeks and we are still working very hard in relation to the recovery from the horrible events at Grenfell Tower.
Updated
Senior Labour MP Diane Abbott and Met commissioner Cressida Dick were among several prominent figures seen joining an interfaith meeting at Finsbury Park mosque.
Earlier Theresa May was seen at the meeting with religious leaders (see earlier).
Jeremy Corbyn was not visible at the meeting. He may have continued upstairs to join the mosque’s congregation in their afternoon prayer.
Updated
Attacker not known to security services
The suspect in the attack was not known to the security services, according to security minister Ben Wallace.
“This man was not known to the authorities in the space of extremism or far-right extremism and he clearly took advantage of a simple weapon, a vehicle, to make an attack on people going about their business,” Wallace told Sky News.
He added: “There are no ifs no buts, this is a terrorist attack in the same way the bomber of Manchester blew up many people only recently. This is a pure terrorist attack designed to inflict terror and fear and also hurt people in some twisted cause.”
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Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, has tweeted her “love and prayers” to the victims of the Finsbury Park attack.
She added: “We must stand united against hatred and extremism in all its ugly forms.” Nothing yet from her father.
Sending love and prayers to the victims in #FinsburyPark London. We must stand united against hatred and extremism in all it's ugly forms.
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 19, 2017
Politicians are flocking to Finsbury Park.
Updated
Jeremy Corbyn has just arrived at Finsbury Park mosque accompanied by Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy. The labour leader walked past a scrum of reporters and passersby to enter by the men’s entrance. He did not say anything, but a passerby was heard shouting: “I love you!” A second man shouted: “All Muslims love you.”
Updated
The number of people being treated in hospital after the attack now stands at seven, down from eight this morning.
In an update NHS England said: “A total of seven patients are currently being treated in London hospitals. The three hospitals who have received patients are the Royal London, Whittington, and St Mary’s. The London Ambulance Service treated two and discharged at the scene.”
It does not say whether any of the wounded are in critical care. Earlier police said two people were seriously injured.
Updated
May has met religious leaders of many faiths at the Finsbury Park Mosque, including Mohammed Kozbar, chair of the mosque.
#Shomrim President, Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE, at the #FinsburyPark Mosque with the UK Prime Minister Theresa May. #WeStandTogether pic.twitter.com/6zZEdJlJN8
— Shomrim N.E. London (@Shomrim) June 19, 2017
Her visit to the scene and, her willingness to talk to people affected, is notably faster than her response to the Grenfell Tower fire last week.
Updated
Here’s the full text of Theresa May’s Downing Street statement.
It ends:
Today’s attack falls at a difficult time in the life of this city, following on from the attack on London Bridge 2 weeks ago – and of course the unimaginable tragedy of Grenfell Tower last week, on which I will chair another meeting of Ministers and officials later today.
But what we have seen throughout – whether in the heroism of the ordinary citizens who fought off the attackers at London Bridge; the unbreakable resolve of the residents in Kensington; or this morning the spirit of the community that apprehended this attacker – is that this is an extraordinary city of extraordinary people.
It is home to a multitude of communities that together make London one of the greatest cities on earth.
Diverse, welcoming, vibrant, compassionate, confident and determined never to give in to hate.
These are the values that define this city.
These are the values that define this country.
These are the values that this government will uphold.
These are the values that will prevail.
Here’s our report:
There’s a lot of politicians on the scene.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has arrived at the #FinsburyParkattack scene. Headed towards mosque with Corbyn. pic.twitter.com/ZKJ7d7eYox
— Laura Silver (@laurafleur) June 19, 2017
Theresa May arrives at the scene
Theresa May has arrived at the scene. Eve Hartley of Huff Post UK has this video of the PM’s arrival.
The PM Theresa May has arrived at #FinsburyPark mosque. pic.twitter.com/YpFTyJDXIf
— Eve Hartley (@eve_hartley) June 19, 2017
London Ambulance has confirmed that eight people were taken to three London hospitals after being injured in the attack. Others were treated at the scene for minor injuries, it said.
The first of 60 paramedics arrived within 14 minutes of the first emergency call, according to Peter McKenna, deputy director of operations.
Latest statement: Our thoughts are with all of those affected by the incident in #FinsburyPark earlier today https://t.co/oL75V7ZUWD pic.twitter.com/mm6563MLot
— London Ambulance (@Ldn_Ambulance) June 19, 2017
Updated
Mohammed Kozbar, the chairman of the nearby Finsbury Park mosque, has given a statement at the scene flanked by other religious leaders from the Islington faith forum and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Pointing out that members of different faith communities gathered at Muslim Welfare House on Saturday to remember the murdered MP Jo Cox, he said: “To honour and celebrate her affirmation that we all have more in common than we have things which differentiate us.”
He added: “Less than 48 hours later the same area experienced a terrorist attack, aimed at killing Muslim returning home after their Ramadan prayers. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the person who died and with all those injured and traumatised by this event. An attack on one faith is an attack on all faith and communities.
Those who try to divide us and who aim to spread fear, hatred and division will not succeed … May we stand together in these challenging times.”
Updated
The van hire company whose vehicle was involved in the attack has issued a statement. It said:
We at Pontyclun Van Hire are shocked and saddened by the incident that took place at Finsbury Park last night. We are cooperating fully with the Metropolitan police and our thoughts are with those who have been injured in this cowardly attack.
We will not be making any further statement because of the ongoing police investigation but will continue to assist the police in any way we can.
Updated
What we know so far
- Police have confirmed they are investigating a terror attack in London after a van ploughed into people near a north London mosque, leaving one person dead and injuring eight others. A 48-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, and two of those hit by the van were said to be “very seriously injured”.
- Witnesses said the driver had shouted: “I want to kill all Muslims” before onlookers pinned him to the ground. The suspect was protected by a local imam after being pinned down by members of the Muslim community.
- Theresa May has vowed that “hatred and evil” of the kind seen in the attack on a north London mosque will never succeed. May said that the attack on Muslims was “every bit as insidious and destructive to our values and our way of life” as the recent string of terror attacks apparently motivated by Islamist extremism.
-
The Labour leader and local MP, Jeremy Corbyn, spent much of the early morning at Muslim Welfare House, where the attack took place. He said: “I see it this is a terror on the streets … in the communities … We have to all reach out and feel their pain and their stress.”
- Police said it was too early to state if the man who died at the scene was killed in the attack. He was being helped when the van ploughed into pedestrians. All of the victims of the attack, including two who are in a critical condition, are from the Muslim community.
- The suspected attacker, who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, waved to the crowd as he was led away. The van involved in the attack is marked with the livery of the hire company, which is based on an industrial estate close to the M4 12 miles west of Cardiff.
- White supremacists have celebrated the attack, according to the US extremist monitoring group Site. It also said pro-Islamic State channels were using reports of the incident to incite Muslims.
- Muslim leaders have reacted with shock, condemnation and calls for security at mosques to be stepped up. Many also said the backdrop of the attack was rising Islamophobia. Support also came from Christian, Jewish and Sikh leaders.
Updated
Here’s a visual guide to how the attack unfolded:
Footage of suspect waving as he was led away
The Guardian has obtained this footage, which shows the man suspected of carrying out the Finsbury Park attack waving to the crowd as he was put into a police van.
Updated
Here’s PA’s first take on the prime minister’s statement:
Theresa May has vowed that “hatred and evil” of the kind seen in the attack on a north London mosque will never succeed.
The prime minister was speaking following a meeting with security officials and ministers in the government’s Cobra emergency committee in Whitehall.
She confirmed that police believe the man who drove a van into worshippers outside Finsbury Park mosque in the early hours of Monday acted alone.
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, May said the attack had “once again targeted the ordinary and the innocent going about their daily lives – this time, British Muslims as they left a mosque, having broken their fast and prayed together at this sacred time of year”.
She added: “Today we come together, as we have done before, to condemn this act and to state once again that hatred and evil of this kind will never succeed.”
May said that the attack on Muslims was “every bit as insidious and destructive to our values and our way of life” as the recent string of terror attacks apparently motivated by Islamist extremism, adding: “We will stop at nothing to defeat it.”
Updated
The BBC has footage of the suspected attacker being pinned to the ground by members of the Muslim community.
Footage shows the moment crowds restrain man suspected of driving van into pedestrians near #FinsburyPark mosquehttps://t.co/CBG8mzBpgY pic.twitter.com/NtYoQbLGXC
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) June 19, 2017
There’s more on our Politics Live blog.
Updated
Three men who say they helped to restrain the suspect in the attack near a north London mosque have praised an imam who urged the crowd not to do him any harm.
After a van ploughed into a group of people in Finsbury Park, members of the public wrestled the suspect to the ground. Then an imam from the Muslim Welfare House urged the crowd to remain calm.
“The imam came from the mosque and he said, ‘Listen we are fasting, this is Ramadan, we are not supposed to do these kinds of things so please step back,’” said Mohammed, one of three men who were sitting outside a nearby coffee shop on Monday morning and said that they had played a part in holding the man down.
“For that reason this guy is still alive today,” the cafe owner, 29, went on. “This is the only reason. If the imam was not there he wouldn’t be here today.”
The imam was named by the Muslim Welfare House as Mohammed Mahmoud. In a statement Toufik Kacimi, the mosque and welfare centre’s chief executive, praised Mahmoud’s bravery which he said “helped calm the immediate situation after the incident and prevented further injuries and potential loss of life”.
Footage on mobile phones at the scene when the man was being held on the ground captures the voice of a man shouting: “No one touch him – no-one! No-one!”
Other witnesses corroborated the cafe owner Mohammed’s account of the incident. Adil Rana, 24, who was outside the mosque when the van drove towards the crowd, said that initially, some people had attacked the suspect. “The driver jumped out and then he was pinned down to the floor and people were punching him and beating him, which was reasonable because of what he’s done,” he said. “And then the imam of the mosque actually came out and said: ‘Don’t hit him, hand him over to the police, pin him down.’”
Hussain Ali, 28, said: “The leader of the mosque said: ‘You do not touch him’. He was sitting and holding him like that, people kept holding him.”
Updated
May pays tribute to the “extraordinary” people of London. She praises the way the public detained the attacker, just as others had tackled the attackers on London Bridge, and the way the community had come together in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Updated
May: attack is 'sickening'
Theresa May is giving a statement in Downing Street. She says the attack is “every bit as sickening” as the other recent terrorist attacks.
Police declared it a terrorist incident within eight minutes, May says.
The 48-year-old suspect attacker was “bravely” detained by members of the public, she adds.
“This was an attack on Muslims near their place of worship … And like all acts of terrorism it seeks to drive us apart,” she says.
The attacker is a reminder that extremism and hatred takes many forms.
Updated
There is significant anger and mistrust of the media among some members of Finsbury Park’s Muslim community.
Many people are reluctant to provide their names when speaking to reporters, and will refuse to speak to certain outlets. Ali Habib, 23, a student union organiser who lives in the area, said that lingering negative media reporting about Finsbury Park mosque, after its association with Abu Hamza, had created a sense of threat.
He said: “Two years ago they threw petrol bombs at Finsbury Park mosque when people were praying. When that happened, we thought it was just an incident that would never happen again.”
In the aftermath of last night’s attack, he added: “In the first instance as soon as it was reported, the Daily Mail came here talking about Abu Hamza: they were calling it a revenge attack.”
On social media he saw it referred to as having a troubled past, he said. “It’s not the same mosque.”
The way the attack was reported in the immediate aftermath meant “there’s a lot of anger about the media,” Habib said.
“The BBC was talking about a fish market and Brexit … a lot of people here feel neglected.
“There were people there I know who didn’t know where their families were, so the media was like a spit in the face.”
Youth from the area, who are usually portrayed negatively in the media, were the ones who had conducted the citizen’s arrest and helped lift the lorry to rescue a man trapped underneath, he pointed out.
“Orthodox Jews and Muslims were all together [on the cordon] but we didn’t see the media reporting that last night.” Habib added that within the community “they are waiting to see if the PM’s going to react the way she had in the past”.
Jeremy Corbyn, the local MP, is currently at the site and had a statement out within the hour, Habib noted. But he had also taken an interest in the community before the apparent attack.
“He broke fast with the local community five days ago in the Finsbury Park mosque,” he said. The apparent targeting of the Muslim community at the height of Ramadan has shocked the community, he added.
“A lot of the time people are saying Islamophobia isn’t real, but this time it’s actually killed someone and injured others … There are kids who grew up [watching this] on TV and never expected it to happen in their own backyard,” he said.
Some key reading material to understand #FinsburyPark attack. pic.twitter.com/vXfSvC65IK
— Hicham Yezza (@HichamYezza) June 19, 2017
Updated
White supremacists have celebrated the attack, according to the US extremist monitoring group Site.
One declared it as “hope for the British,” Site reported.
White Supremacists Celebrate Car Ramming Pedestrians Near #London Mosque in #FinsburyPark, Claim There May be... https://t.co/50iOJnXtBS pic.twitter.com/NKv6q8ESzM
— SITE - FRFL (@SITE_FRFL) June 19, 2017
The attack was also reportedly praised on the Facebook site of the far-right group Britain First.
Appalling comments on #BritainFirst's #Facebook post https://t.co/1N7gKywoKV regarding #FinsburyParkattack @TellMamaUK #FinsburyPark pic.twitter.com/SOxYunlnmN
— Omar Kuddus (@OmarKuddus) June 19, 2017
Site also reported that pro-Islamic State channels are using reports of the incident in Finsbury Park to incite Muslims (see earlier).
Updated
Human Appeal, the UK’s fastest growing Muslim charity, had a live television appeal on the Islam channel on Sunday night to raise money for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. Moments before the attack in north London, a representative of the Finsbury Park mosque, across the road from the Muslim Welfare House, called to say the community had raised £3,500 for those killed, injured and displaced by the inferno.
Theresa May is about to give a statement in Downing Street about the Finsbury Park attack after chairing a meeting of the government’s emergency committee, Cobra.
Ephraim Mirvis, the chief rabbi, said:
“It is heartbreaking to hear of yet another deadly attack on the streets of London, this time targeting Muslims who had been at prayer. This is a painful illustration of why we must never allow hatred to breed hatred. It creates a downward spiral of violence and terror with only further death and greater destruction.
“As ever, our thoughts and prayers are with those affected and may each of us resolve to respond to this latest tragedy with the same compassion and determination not to be divided, which has defined our society over recent months.”
Horrific attack at #finsburypark a painful illustration of why we must never allow hatred to breed hatred. Thoughts with all those affected.
— Chief Rabbi Mirvis (@chiefrabbi) June 19, 2017
Updated
More Christian leaders have offered prayers and support for Finsbury Park’s Muslim community.
Adrian Newman, the bishop of Stepney, said: “An attack on any faith is an attack on us all. As a church, we stand together with Finsbury Park mosque, in the wake of this morning’s appalling news. It sadly comes after a weekend, in memory of Jo Cox MP, that celebrated all that brings us together, and I know that the mosque, hand in hand with other local faith and community groups, was at the heart of events in the Finsbury Park area.”
Local churches would be available to help the mosque, he added. “We will not be cowed by those who seek to terrorise our communities.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Catholic archbishop of Westminster, said he was “appalled at the deliberate attack on people leaving their late-night prayers, as the end of their day of fasting, at the mosque in Finsbury Park. I have assured the leadership of the mosque and the Muslim Welfare Centre of our prayers and support.
“Violence breeds violence. Hatred breeds hatred. Every one of us must repudiate hatred and violence from our words and actions. We must all be builders of understanding, compassion and peace, day by day, in our homes, our work and our communities. That is the only way.”
Updated
Javid: ‘this is hate crime attack’
The communities secretary, Sajid Javid, has been at the scene to express the government’s solidarity with the Muslim community.
Speaking to BBC News, he said: “I’m here to reassure first the local Muslim community and Muslims across Britain that we will always, as a government, take a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime … clearly, what we’ve seen and what we know already this is a hate crime attack.”
Javid added: “The Muslim community has our full support in every way, but I also want to learn from the community here what more we can do to reassure them at this very difficult time.”
The speed of Javid’s visit to the scene is in marked contrast to the government’s response to the Grenfell Tower fire last week, when the prime minister was criticised for failing to meet residents.
Javid added: “There is a meeting that the prime minister is chairing right now of the emergency Cobra committee to see what other response we can have that can help.”
Sajid Javid comforts a Muslim woman in Finsbury Park who says she no longer feels safe. "Stay strong" he tells her. @lbc pic.twitter.com/D6ydB1Kmzb
— Richard Suchet (@RichSuchet) June 19, 2017
Updated
Police are standing guard outside Pontyclun Van Hire in south Wales.
The van involved is marked with the livery of the hire company which is based on an industrial estate close to the M4 12 miles west of Cardiff.
A woman who answered the phone at the hire company’s offices said: “We’re not allowed to make any comment. You’ll have to try back later.”
With its headquarters on the East Side Cambrian Industrial Estate, the company has been established for 25 years. Its website says it provides “quality vans, trucks and other vehicles for hire in the south Wales area.”
The hire company serves a wide area. It is at the foot of the Rhondda Valley; the market town of Cowbridge is six miles south while Brigend is 10 miles west.
Pont-y-Clun itself is a bustling village. Its population has risen sharply in recent years with people moving out of Cardiff to find more affordable accommodation – and others moving from the valleys to get within easy commuting distance of the Welsh capital.
Finsbury Park attack - Pontyclun van hire in South Wales pic.twitter.com/3QINx8INZP
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) June 19, 2017
Corbyn: 'we all have to reach out to feel their pain and stress'
Corbyn said he was contacted by Downing Street in the early hours of the morning but has yet to talk to the prime minister about the attack.
Speaking at the scene he said:
This was a van driven into a crowd of people attending a man who was already injured. They were coming home from night time prayers in the mosque. As I see it this is a terror on the streets ... in the communities.
Downing Street have been in touch with us and I was speaking to the mayor of London Sadiq Khan as well, we had a long conversation at about 4 o’clock this morning while I was in Muslim Welfare House so we were making sure that the response was efficient and coordinated and also to give reassure to the community.
I haven’t spoken to her [Theresa May] directly, but our offices have been in touch and she has expressed her condolences for the death and also concerns about what happened last night.
Asked if the prime minister should attend the scene, Corbyn said: “It is not up to me what the prime minister does. I’m the local MP. And I’m obviously here as you would expect any constituency MP to be present. These are people who I have represented for more than 35 years. I know many of them extremely well. And I feel their pain today and I feel their stress today. We have to all reach out and feel their pain and their stress.”
He added:
“I’ve met both last night and this morning people who were just frightened, were just frightened that something like this could happen again. We obviously need efficient and effective policing we obviously need an attitude in our society of support for each other. The only way to deal with kind of issue is communities coming together.
“This is a very multi-faith community - Christians, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, all live around here. This is a microcosm of a community working together.
“An attack on a mosque, an attack on a synagogue, an attack on a church, is actually an attack on all of us. We have to protect each other’s faith each other’s way of life. That’s what makes us a strong society and community.”
Asked if the police could do more to protect the area, Corbyn said: “I’m not complaining at all about the local police. They in fact have worked very well together with both the mosques in Finsbury Park to make sure they have the support they need.”
The communities secretary, Sajid Javid, has also been filmed at the scene. He was shown on BBC News entering the police cordon with the police.
Updated
Corbyn at the scene
Local MP and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is at the scene. Speaking to Sky News he confirmed he visited the aftermath of the attack last night. He said:
I live down there on Seven Sisters Road and, obviously, I was aware of incident very quickly. There was a number of police vehicles and a helicopter overhead. I know the people in Muslim Welfare House and the mosque extremely well, and the community very well.
I came here last night to talk to the police and the firefighters and ambulance who were here. I have to say the response by all three emergency services was very timely and very quick. And the police managed to arrest the suspect who was driving the van and take him away from the area. And sadly, the gentleman who died [his] body was on the ground and was covered respectfully by a tent so that forensic examination could take place.
Police updating Corbyn on #FinsburyParkattack – Corbyn also appears to be speaking to locals behind cordon. pic.twitter.com/lC14VvJl0i
— Laura Silver (@laurafleur) June 19, 2017
Updated
There has been widespread condemnation from political leaders past and present.
The Finsbury Park attack is senseless barbarism. My thoughts and prayers are with all involved. Yet again the emergency services are heroes.
— Tim Farron (@timfarron) June 19, 2017
Appalling terrorist attack against Muslims worshipping peacefully in Finsbury Park. We must all stand together against such evil.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) June 19, 2017
Horrified by the appalling attack in Finsbury Park.The country stands with all those affected:the victims, their families and the community.
— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) June 19, 2017
A sickening attack on worshippers at #FinsburyPark mosque. All my thoughts are with victims, family & friends.
— Zac Goldsmith (@ZacGoldsmith) June 19, 2017
This horrible terrorist attack at Finsbury Park last night is truly shocking. My thoughts are with those affected. We must remain united.
— John McDonnell (@johnmcdonnellMP) June 19, 2017
An imam guarded the van driver who mowed down Muslim worshippers until the police arrived, telling a crowd: “Do not touch him,” PA reports.
The suspected terrorist was wrestled to the ground by passersby after he had careered, reportedly smiling, through a crowd of pedestrians, including a man in a wheelchair.
Witness Hussain Ali, 28, said that, while being restrained, the man was protected by the people he is thought to have been targeting.
He said: “The leader of the mosque said: ‘You do not touch him’. He was sitting and holding him like that, people kept holding him.
“All the police and helicopters came after around eight minutes.”
Ali described the horrifying scene unfolding outside the Islamic centre in north London early on Monday morning.
“All I heard was a banging, then I turned and saw all the shouting and running. I saw people taking a man from underneath the van, he was black, bleeding, he was not dead, he was alive.
“There was a man in a wheelchair, a man underneath the van, it was hell. People who were inside saw the attacker was smiling, he was waving, he was happy. It was panic, people were shouting, screaming, some saying it was an accident.
“It was panic, it was horror.”
Following the carnage, the valour of an imam called Mohammed Mahmoud was also hailed by the religious community.
Toufik Kacimi, the chief executive of the Muslim Welfare House, said his “bravery and courage helped calm the immediate situation after the incident and prevented further injuries and potential loss of life”.
Finsbury Park attack: 'People were hitting [the attacker] and the Imam came out to tell them not to and to call the police.' pic.twitter.com/nyoxlAh7Mc
— Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) June 19, 2017
Updated
The European commissioner for home affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos, has added his voice to those condemning the attack and called for unity.
Strongly condemn attack near Mosque at #FinsburyPark.To those who wish to divide our communities, we have to respond with unity.
— DimitrisAvramopoulos (@Avramopoulos) June 19, 2017
Updated
The archbishop of Canterbury has also condemned the attack. “We stand in solidarity with our Muslim friends and pray for the bereaved and injured,” he tweeted.
The attack at #FinsburyPark mosque is abhorrent. We stand in solidarity with our Muslim friends and pray for the bereaved and injured.
— Justin Welby ن (@JustinWelby) June 19, 2017
The appalling attack on Muslims in #FinsburyPark is an attack on us all and the culture and values of our country.https://t.co/wvTh9Ij94F pic.twitter.com/zwMcezpoWH
— Justin Welby ن (@JustinWelby) June 19, 2017
Updated
If you’ve been affected by the incident and would like to share eyewitness accounts or news tips, anonymously if you prefer, with our journalists then please do so via the form here. The form is encrypted and your responses are only seen by the Guardian. You can also contact the Guardian via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44(0)7867825056.
A London Underground worker wrote this quote of the day on the service information board at Finsbury Park station: “Tough times don’t last. Tough people do stick together. All of us”.
My local tube worker Finsbury Park pic.twitter.com/oDRRHQr7J1
— Charlie Robertson (@RencapMan) June 19, 2017
The suspected attack came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when several worshippers had gathered in Finsbury Park area which is home to two mosques.
Among Britain’s Muslim communities there have been fears that they are targeted for Islamophobic hate crimes and that the authorities do not take such incidents seriously enough.
A spike in hate crimes was reported after the London Bridge attack, just over a fortnight ago. Security officials and senior police officers are in private, acutely aware of the need to protect Muslim communities from any “backlash”.
Extremists on the far right and those following an extremist Islamist ideology want to drive a wedge between British Muslims and other communities.
Corbyn to attend prayers at Finsbury Park mosque
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is also the MP for the area, said he will be attending prayers at the Finsbury Park mosque later today.
In a statement he said:
I am shocked by this horrific and cruel attack in Finsbury Park, which is being treated as an act of terror.
I offer my condolences to the family and friends of the man who has died, and our thoughts are with the people who have been injured, their family and friends.
As the local MP, I have met with Muslim community leaders at the Muslim Welfare House alongside Islington council leader Richard Watts, the council’s chief executive Lesley Seary and the Metropolitan police.
Richard and I will attend prayers at Finsbury Park mosque later today.
I appeal for people and the media to remain calm and respectful of those affected.
In the meantime, I call on everyone to stand together against those who seek to divide us.
I am shocked by this horrific and cruel attack in Finsbury Park, which is being treated as an act of terror. pic.twitter.com/fipwZJ1eBZ
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 19, 2017
Here’s roundup of other political reaction:
Updated
The Muslim Association of Britain “unreservedly condemns this evil terror attack” and has called on the police to increase security in mosques.
In a statement, it said: “We call on politicians to treat this major incident no less than a terrorist attack. We call on the government to do more to tackle this hateful evil ideology which has spread over these past years and resulted in an increase of Islamophobic attacks and division of our society, as well as spreading of hate.”
Dr Omer El-Hamdoon, the association’s president, said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this evil attack. I call on all Muslims to be extra vigilant following these hateful Islamophobic attacks, and to be cautious.”
Updated
Bhai Amrik Singh, chair of the Sikh Federation (UK), said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the appalling incident at Finsbury Park.”
“Worryingly vehicles in London have once again become the latest weapon in the hands of terrorists. Unfortunately this means every innocent pedestrian going about their daily lives has become a target.
“The incidents in the last three months suggest there needs to be an honest dialogue and a fundamental shift in the way government tackles all forms of hate and terror.
“Hate and terror must be stamped out by directly confronting all those who promote an ideology and philosophy based on hate and terror.
“Sikh teachings, history and the Sikh way of life offers not only hope, but direction on how to tackle hate and terror. Those making policies in governments across the globe need to draw upon belief systems and thinking designed to deal with hate and terror head on.”
The European Jewish Congress also expressed shock and condemnation.
“This is an unconscionable attack on Muslim worshippers during their holy month of Ramadan,” EJC President Moshe Kantor said. “We condemn this attack and its attempt to escalate tensions in the UK and we stand firmly besides our Muslim brothers and sisters in the aftermath of this attack.”
“An attack on one religion is an attack on all religions and all people and faiths must stand together against terror.”
Mohammed Kozbar, the chairman of the nearby Finsbury Park mosque, said: “This is a shocking new terrorist attack - and we have to call it that. It’s no different to Manchester, Westminster or London Bridge. Innocent people have lost their lives while just going about their business. Innocent people are being killed in cold blood.”
Kozbar called for action by the government and police to protect mosques, and said the his own mosque would be tightening security. “We need to show the community they are safe and protected.”
Ramadan - due to end at the weekend, with the festival of Eid al-Fitr expected to begin on Sunday - was always a busy time for mosques, with people coming and going to pray all night, he added.
“Finsbury Park is a diverse community, living together in harmony. The person who did this wants to spread hatred and fear. We will not let them succeed. We will all come together to support the people affected. Our thoughts and prayers are will the victims - we will comfort them and stand with them.”
Finsbury Park mosque was associated with the radical cleric Abu Hamza until 2005, when it was taken over by new management. Now it is seen as a model of community relations.
Updated
The van involved is marked with the livery of Pontyclun Van Hire, which is based on an industrial estate close to the M4 12 miles west of Cardiff.
A woman who answered the phone at the hire company’s offices said: “We’re not allowed to make any comment. You’ll have to try back later.”
With its headquarters on the East Side Cambrian Industrial Estate, the company has been established for 25 years. Its website says it provides “quality vans, trucks and other vehicles for hire in the south Wales area.”
Yousif al Khoei, director of the Al Khoei Islamic Foundation, said he came to Finsbury Park in the early hours of the morning along with rabbis as part of a multi-faith response effort.
“We are quite concerned that a state of frustration, anger and rise of extremism ... is quite detrimental to the peaceful existence people normally have in the UK, in London,” he said. “We have been worrying as faith community leaders. We have to ensure London remains peaceful, these extremists are isolated (and) we do not allow racism and islamophobia and antisemitism to take hold and we cannot allow these extremists to divide us.”
He works with police and other faith leaders to try and ease such tensions, he added. “We make sure both the community and the police are aware of the concerns of each other,” he said.
Hassan Yassin, 28, from Enfield, was one of many who have come down to see what was happening in the aftermath of the attack. He said he feared it would only fuel extremism.
“This will only fuel Muslim extremists to carry out more attacks. They will use that as a justification to carry out more attacks. Both [Muslim and non-Muslim communities need to work together.”
Yassin said it was up to the mosques to debate those with radical views to persuade them that they were wrong.
“Maybe a mosque will talk about this issue once a month - it’s not enough. You can’t deport an ideology; you can’t imprison an ideology; if you deport 3,000 suspects there will be another 3,000 on the streets tomorrow.”
However, Yassin also said that work needed to be done to counter extremism in non-Muslim communities, where violent Islamophobia is increasingly taking hold.
“There is an agenda from the rightwing media, I’m talking about people like Tommy Robinson and Britain First,” he said. “They go to the scene of an attack and say this is about Islam. Why is that not radicalisation? When you tell white men that this is Islam, that in its definition is radicalisation. You are telling people to hate us, to go overboard and to attack us. It’s extremism on both ends.”
Mobile phone footage taken by Mohammed Abdullah shows the man suspected of carrying out the attack being detained by police and onlookers against a police van.
Updated
Here are the main points from Dep Asst Comm Neil Basu’s press conference.
Dead man was not necessarily killed by attacker
The attack unfolded whilst the man was already receiving first aid from public at the scene. And sadly that man has died. Any causative link between his death and the attack will form part of our investigation. It is too early to state if his death was as a result of this attack.
Police are treating the attack as terror-related
No matter what the motivation for this attack proves to be we are keeping an open mind. This is being treated as a terrorist attack and the counter-terrorism command is investigating. This was an attack on London and all Londonders and we should all stand together against extremists whatever their cause.
Given the methodology and given what was occurring and what’s happened across the country this had all the hallmarks of a terrorist incident.
Victims were all Muslims
One man was pronounced dead at the scene. Eight others are in hospital and two more were treated at the scene. All the victims were from the Muslim community.
I do know at least two [of the injured] are very serious.
Suspect acted alone
Also at the scene, detained by members of that community, was the man suspected of being the driver during this attack. He has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
[Interrogating the suspect has] not happened yet. That will obviously be a priority in the investigation. As soon as he is our custody and has been through our formal custody procedures he will be being interviewed.
At this early stage of the investigation no other suspect have been identified or reported to police and there were no reports any people having suffered any knife injuries.
There was nobody else in the van and it appears at this time that this attacker attacked alone. That is not to say that we are not investigating the full circumstances of how he can be where he was.
Police were on the scene as it unfolded
From 12.21am police received a number of calls to Seven Sisters Road following a van having collided with pedestrians. Officers were in the immediate vicinity at the time, actually as the attack unfolded and they responded instantly. Additional officers were on scene within 10 minutes.
Public restraint praised
I would like to praise the police officers who immediately response who gave life-saving treatment at the scene. But also very much those members of the public who assisted before and after this incident.
I would like to thank those people who helped police in detaining the man and worked with officers to calmly and quickly get him into our custody. There restraint in the circumstances is commendable.
He was very quickly and calmly given over to the police and put into custody. I think that was commendable by members of the community who must have been incredibly shaken, incredibly scared and incredibly angry. What it proves to me is that Londoners will act together to protect themselves, but they do so in a way that doesn’t feed into terrorist and extremist hands.
The van was not booby-trapped
The van used has been examined by specialist officers, but nothing that would cause a risk to the public was found within it.
Extra police have been deployed across London
Extra policing resources have been deployed across London in order to reassure communities, especially those of observing Ramadan at this very sensitive time. I would urge everyone to remain calm and vigilant. I ask the public with any information about this incident or anything that causes them concern or suspicion to call the police on 0800 789 321.
This has been an incredibly challenging time for London and the emergency services are stretched. Nevertheless we will all do absolutely everything we can, with our partners, to protect London and our city.
Now is the time for London to stand together to face those who seek to divide us.
Updated
“There was no one else in the van,” Basu says.
Updated
Basu says the attack comes at a “challenging” time and the emergency services are stretched. He praises the way the community tackled the suspected attacker.
The incident had all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack, Basu says.
Driver arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, Scotland Yard says
Dep Asst Comm Neil Basu of the Metropolitan police, who is senior national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism policing, is giving a statement.
He says it is too early to tell whether the man who died at the scene was killed in the attack. Eight others were taken to hospital. Two were treated at the scene. All of the victims were Muslim.
The driver of the van has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, Basu said.
Updated
The streets around the junction of Fonthill Road and Seven Sisters Road are sealed off by a police cordon, and there is a heavy media presence.
Abdikadir Warfa, who was just around the corner and witnessed the immediate aftermath of the attack, said the vehicle used to plough through people near the Muslim Welfare House, said it appeared a white lorry with yellow markings was used. “I think it was rented,” he said.
“Everyone was lying on the street shouting, crying ‘help me’. I saw a man trying to run and everyone was trying to stop him,” he added. Four or five men were restraining him. “He was shouting something but I couldn’t hear.”
Several people pointed out that had the collision taken place minutes earlier it would have caused even more harm, as people were already dispersing after prayers.
A 22-year-old man, who asked not to be named, said he heard tyres screaming and saw the lorry “stuck on the barriers” where it had apparently swerved towards people. “People started screaming, saying we need help, call police, call an ambulance.”
He saw people lying on the pavement. “Their families were crying. A lady was crying and saying, my brother, my brother, he can’t breathe.”
People flagged down a police van that was passing along Seven Sisters Road and the eyewitness described how people handed over the suspected attacker. He showed videos filmed by his friends showing injured people lying in the street, one receiving CPR, and the suspect, a tall white man with dark hair wearing a black T-shirt, being put into the police van.
Updated
Tell MAMA, a group that monitors hate crime against Muslims, was at the Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park on Friday, informing the congregation about the need to report anti-Muslim hatred and offering advice on safety during Ramadan.
Members of the congregation in the two mosques in the area are mainly from north and west Africa. The mosque has previously been targeted for anti-Muslim hate and has had white powder sent to it, causing security concerns.
Tell MAMA staff also informed members of the local congregation about the need to maintain vigilance during Ramadan when many Muslims wear clothing which identifies them as Muslims. Speaking about the safety of mosques, the Director of Tell MAMA, Iman Atta, said:
We have put out numerous safety leaflets to mosques to ensure vigilance so that congregations are safe. Ramadan is a time when Muslims are more visible and when there are larger congregations who attend late at night to pray after opening their fasts. Mosque safety needs to be stepped up and this includes entry and exit points.
Updated
Londoners are 'nothing short of heroic', says Rudd
The home secretary, Amber Rudd, has defended the time it took for the authorities to declare this as a terrorist incident.
Speaking to Sky News, she said: “We know that the police were on hand immediately. We know that they have treated it immediately as a suspected terrorist event. That is the normal procedure and we will see whether they confirm that later this morning.”
She also paid tribute to the way Londoners had reacted to a series of recent incidents:
Unfortunately we have again woken up to another terrible incident in London where a man has taken hold of a van and driven it into a group of innocent people in Finsbury Park. There is one fatal fatality that we know about and a number of casualties and the police are treating it as terrorist incident. Londoners have been hit with a series of attacks and have actually been nothing short of heroic.
Rudd insisted that funds were available to help secure mosques.
We will always make sure that everybody is protected. We have a places of worship fund which is there to protect places of worship like mosques and we will make sure that we do all we can to reduce these sort of attacks. We have made available £2.5m last summer, I recently announced who would be getting those additional funds, which included 12 mosques and I have reopened it recently to make sure that any additional place of worship that feels the need can apply for extra security.
Asked whether the emergency services would be given extra funds, Rudd said:
When we speak to emergency services during these series of attacks, we always ask them what additional support they. Actually they have generally confirmed to us that they do have sufficient resources because there is a kind of mutual aid that works of people supporting each other. It is working, but of course we will always keep it under review to ensure that our emergency services have all the support they need.
Updated
Witness heard driver saying 'I want to kill Muslims'
The driver of the white van that ploughed into pedestrians was pinned to the ground by onlookers after saying: “I want to kill Muslims,” a witness has said.
The witness, who wanted to be identified as Abdulrahman, which is not his real name, said he and his friends had stopped to help an elderly man who was lying on the floor at around 12.20am on Monday.
“In seconds this terrible thing happened,”’ he told the Press Association. “Literally within a minute, a van with speed turned to where we were and ran over the man who was laying on the floor and the people around him, around eight people or 10 people got injured, some of them seriously. Thank God I’m safe, but my friends got injured.”
The van driver was detained by members of the public after the attack in Seven Sisters Road.
Abdulrahman said:
I managed to get the driver of the van when he came out of his van. He wanted to run away and was saying, ‘I want to kill Muslims’. So he came back to the main road and I managed to get him to the ground and me and some other guys managed to hold him until the police arrived, for about 20 minutes I think, until the police arrived.
People were very upset, people were shouting, people were saying, ‘where’s the police, where’s the ambulance?’ People were saying, ‘keep him on the ground’, people were asking questions, saying ‘why did you do this?’ People were laying down on the floor.”
Abdulrahman claimed the driver said “kill me”, as he was holding his head on the ground.
He added: “I said, ‘tell me why did you try driving to kill innocent people?’ When he went into the [police] van he made gestures, he was laughing. He deliberately did this. He caused this incident.”
Abdulrahman said he believed the old man, who had been lying on the ground before the attack, had passed away, while some of his friends remain in hospital.
Earlier an eyewitness told BuzzFeed that driver shouted “I want to kill all Muslims.”
Eyewitness tells @jamesrbuk man drove van at pedestrians outside London mosque, then shouted “Kill me, kill me, I want to kill all Muslims” pic.twitter.com/gSgTX05aSQ
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) June 19, 2017
Updated
Pro-Islamic State channels are using reports of the incident in Finsbury Park to incite Muslims, according to groups which monitor jihadists.
One pro-Isis post said “Oh Muslims you need to wake up the war starting on your own streets”. It also questioned why the police didn’t shoot dead the attacker.
UPDATE Example of posts re Finsbury Park incident on pro-Islamic State Telegram channels following suggestions the driver is not a Muslim pic.twitter.com/oSBJ5T8Otl
— Michael S. Smith II (@MichaelSSmithII) June 19, 2017
Pro-#ISIS Telegram Channels Use Reported Van Attack Outside #Finsbury Mosque to Incite Muslims https://t.co/0VAuvGVd2A
— SITE Intel Group (@siteintelgroup) June 19, 2017
Muslim Welfare House appeals for calm
The Muslim Welfare House on Seven Sisters Road, which appeared to be targeted in the attack, has appealed for calm.
In a messages forwarded by Miqdaad Versi, assistant general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, it said:
“We have worked very hard over decades to build a peaceful and tolerant community here in Finsbury Park and we totally condemn any act of hate that tries to driver our wonderful community apart. We would appeal for calm at this time ... All of our efforts should be towards getting justice for the victims and ensuring our community stays the diverse, tolerant and welcome place we know it to be.”
Statement by @Mwh_London on the terror attack on Muslim worshippers in the #FinsburyPark area outside Muslim Welfare House pic.twitter.com/vjkjHDRw1a
— Miqdaad Versi (@miqdaad) June 19, 2017
Witness Abdikadar Warfa said the van was driving at high speed down Seven Sisters Road and turned left down an alley. He said most of the victims were young, but an older man was among them.
Speaking to the Press Association, he said:
I saw a man underneath the van. He was bleeding. My friend said he had to lift the van. I was busy with a man who tried to escape. My friend said he said some words, but I didn’t hear it.
They [people who were hit] were mostly young. They are very bad. I tried to stop him [the suspect], some people were hitting him but I said stop him and keep him until the police came.
He was trying to run away but people overpowered him. He was fighting to run away.
Witness Abdikadar Warfa told @PA people tending to a man who had collapsed were struck by a van #FinsburyPark pic.twitter.com/k51KRBkNKx
— Alexander Britton (@adbritton) June 19, 2017
Updated
Images of the van
Images are emerging of the van believed to be involved in the incident.
Ratip Alsulaimen said he saw up to 10 people being taken away in ambulances. Speaking to PA he said:
“I was sitting in the coffee shop just a couple of minutes away.
“One of our friends was reporting what was going on in the front of the mosque.
“He said the car was smashing into the people getting out of the mosque, so we just ran away, all of us, and came to see what’s happening.
“When I came I saw ambulance people taking people to the ambulance. I think between eight to 10 people were taken away.
“There was an old man - about 60 years old - I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. There were other people, mid-30 to 40. There are men and women.
“We are shocked when we heard the news because we were just having a good time. We were praying for peace and for Grenfell Tower. When we heard this we were actually shocked.”
Witness Ratip Alsulaimen told @Pa what he saw at #FinsburyPark pic.twitter.com/iR49oGC5IS
— Ryan Hooper (@RyanJHooper) June 19, 2017
Morning summary
- A van has driven into a crowd of worshippers after they left a mosque in north London, killing one man and injuring eight other people in what police described as a “major incident”.
- The counter-terrorism unit is investigating the crime, which took place on a street crowded by worshippers following Ramadan prayers.
- Prime minister Theresa May said police were treating the incident in Finsbury Park “as a potential terrorist attack”. She said she would chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee the later on Monday morning.
- Jeremy Corbyn, whose constituency includes Finsbury Park, has said he was “totally shocked”.
- Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has condemned the incident as a “horrific terrorist attack” on “innocent Londoners” and said police have been deployed extra police to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan.
- London ambulance service said the eight injured were taken to three hospitals, and an unknown number of others were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
- The van driver – a 48-year-old man – was arrested at the scene by the police after being detained by passersby. He has been taken to hospital as a precaution and will also undergo a mental health assessment.
- Police said they first responded to reports of a traffic collision at about 12.20am on Monday.
- The white van hit people outside the Muslim Welfare House on Seven Sisters Road. Two witnesses reported seeing three people leave the van, however, police said no other suspects have been identified or reported to police.
- The Muslim Council of Great Britain said the attack was ‘motivated by Islamophobia’. The Muslim Welfare House has called for calm.
- Diane Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, which borders Finsbury Park, has called for a review of security for all mosques.
Police reiterate: no other suspects.
Re #SevenSisters Rd #Finsburypark incident - At this early stage there are no other suspects, however the investigation continues.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) June 19, 2017
My colleague Martin Farrer, a former Finsbury Park local, has written about the neighbourhood.
The district has a rich history, not least in the former Rainbow theatre, which lies on the other side of the road from the Muslim Welfare House. This once legendary rock venue has hosted some of the greatest names in music such as The Who, Pink Floyd, David Bowie (on the Ziggy tour) and Bob Marley .
Read the full story here:
Reporter and local James Ball has some thoughts on Finsbury Park itself.
Last thoughts before sleep: Finsbury Park is a genuinely diverse area. Nightclubs and mosques sit within yards of each other.
— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) June 19, 2017
I live minutes away from where the attack happens. It's generally a safe, nice, place to live. Don't let others tell you otherwise.
— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) June 19, 2017
(This is a bid to get in before idiots talk about no-go areas or anything like that.)
— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) June 19, 2017
Imam 'protected van driver until police arrived'
Witnesses have told Sky News that an imam from the mosque protected the driver of the van from angry members of the public until the police could arrive.
That account seems to chime with the statement from the Muslim Welfare House that thanks imam Mohammed Mahmoud “whose bravery and courage helped calm the immediate situation after the incident and prevented further injury and loss of life”.
Updated
Muslim Welfare House calls for calm
The attack took place outside the Muslim Welfare House on Seven Sisters Road. The Islamic centre and mosque has released a statement, appealing for calm.
“We have worked very hard over decades to build a peaceful and tolerant community here in Finsbury Park and we totally condemn any act of hate that tries to drive our wonderful community apart,” it reads.
I'm live from 6am at #FinsburyPark for @GMB as one man dies, many injured, as van drives into crowd of Muslims by 'a potential terrorist' pic.twitter.com/kGTaY3h1Gb
— ranvir singh (@ranvir01) June 19, 2017
Witness: van was travelling at 50mph
Witnesses said the van mounted the pavement and mowed people down deliberately, travelling at 50mph. Boubou Sougou, 23, said: “It was deliberate, it was not an accident.”
The New York Police Department has deployed officers to mosques in New York following the attack in Finsbury Park.
NYPD announces they will send officers to mosques in NYC area after tonight's incident in North London's #FinsburyPark. pic.twitter.com/ZKmmlaQkxO
— Caroline O. (@RVAwonk) June 19, 2017
Diane Abbott calls for review of mosque security
Terror attack outside #FinsburyPark mosque. Police must urgently review security for all mosques #StandTogether
— Diane Abbott (@HackneyAbbott) June 19, 2017
Amber Rudd: 'We must all continue to stand together'
Home secretary Amber Rudd has given the following statement in reaction to the attack at Finsbury Park.
My thoughts are with all those affected by the appalling incident at Finsbury Park. I am in contact with the Metropolitan Police who have confirmed it is being investigated by their Counter Terrorism Command. Yesterday, like so many others around the country, I took part in the Great Get Together to celebrate the values of Jo Cox. It was powerful and moving to see the community come together in a show of solidarity. We must all continue to stand together, resolute, against all those who try to divide us and spread hate and fear.”
Sadiq Khan condemns 'horrific terrorist attack'
The mayor of London has released a statement on Facebook, saying the attack was deliberate and targeted “innocent Londoners, many of whom were finishing prayers during the holy month of Ramadan”.
“While this appears to be an attack on a particular community, like the terrible attacks in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge it is also an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect,” he said.
At least two witnesses told Sky News that there were three men in the van, but the Met Police statement seems to directly contradict that, saying no other suspects had been identified or reported to police.
Dawn has broken in London.
Much quieter at this cordon (armed police gone too) – but more of the scene visible in daylight. pic.twitter.com/SyBmiDOFtM
— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) June 19, 2017
The widowed husband of murdered MP Jo Cox has tweeted in the aftermath of the attack, saying that the far right and Islamist terrorists shared an ideology and both must be defeated.
Far right facists&Islamist terrorists are driven by same hatred of difference, same ideology of supremacy&use same tactics.We'll defeat both
— Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox) June 19, 2017
When islamist terrorists attack we rightly seek out hate preachers who spur them on. We must do the same to those who peddle Islamophobia
— Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox) June 19, 2017
PM: police treating incident as 'potential terrorist attack'
Prime minister Theresa May said police are treating the van incident near Finsbury Park “as a potential terrorist attack”, adding: “I will chair an emergency meeting later this morning. All my thoughts are with the victims, their families and the emergency services on the scene.”
The London Ambulance Service has given an update:
We have taken 8 patients to hospital following the incident on #SevenSisters Road in #FinsburyPark https://t.co/oL75V7ZUWD pic.twitter.com/KQNcFumxIC
— London Ambulance (@Ldn_Ambulance) June 19, 2017
One man confirmed to have died, eight people injured
Police have confirmed that one man was pronounced dead at the scene and eight were injured. More than three hours after their first statement, the Metropolitan Police put out its first full update confirming that counter-terrorism police were investigating and that the area had been designated as a crime scene.
The injured have been taken to three separate hospitals; two people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
At this stage there are no reports of any persons having suffered any knife injuries. The driver of the van - a man aged 48 - was found detained by members of public at the scene and then arrested by police in connection with the incident. He has been taken to hospital as a precaution, and will be taken into custody once discharged. He will also be subject of a mental health assessment in due course.
The statement said no other suspects at the scene have been identified or reported to police. “Due to the nature of this incident extra policing resources have been deployed in order to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan,” it said.
Any witnesses, or anyone with any information, can contact police via 101, or via Twitter @MetCC. To give information anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.
Updated
Muslim Council of Britain: perpetrator was 'motivated by Islamophobia'
A statement from the Muslim Council of Britain has condemned the incident, noting it is “widely being described as a terror attack”. The statement said witness accounts described the van “intentionally ploughed into a group of worshippers who were already tending to someone who had been taken ill”. Harun Khan, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain said:
During the night, ordinary British citizens were set upon while they were going about their lives, completing their night worship. My prayers are with the victims and their families. It appears from eye witness accounts that the perpetrator was motivated by Islamophobia.
Over the past weeks and months, Muslims have endured many incidents of Islamophobia, and this is the most violent manifestation to date.
Given we are approaching the end of the month of Ramadan and the celebration of Eid with many Muslims going to local mosques, we expect the authorities to increase security outside mosques as a matter of urgency.
Muslim communities have been calling for increased action to tackle the growth in hate crime for many years and transformative action must now be taken to tackle not only this incident but the hugely worrying growth in Islamophobia.
Many will feel terrorised, no doubt be angry and saddened by what has taken place tonight. We urge calm as the investigation establishes the full facts, and in these last days of Ramadan, pray for those affected and for justice.”
Police are yet to say whether the event in Finsbury Park constitutes a terrorist attack.
What we know so far
- A van has driven into a crowd of worshippers after they left a mosque in north London in what police described as a “major incident”.
- Police have confirmed a number of casualties after the collision which happened at about 12.20am on Monday. Witnesses reported seeing up to 10 injured.
- Police have not said whether this was a deliberate attack or a terrorist attack but counter-terrorism police are at the scene and witnesses have described the van swerving towards a group of people.
- The white van hit people outside the Muslim Welfare House on Seven Sisters Road. Two witnesses reported seeing three people leave the van.
- London Ambulance Service sent a number of crews to the scene including specialist paramedics.
- The Muslim Council of Great Britain said the van had run over worshippers.
- The streets were crowded because it was shortly after prayers had finished at nearby Finsbury Park mosque
- One man was arrested at the scene by the police.
While we await an update from the police, who have not yet confirmed if this was a deliberate attack or terrorist incident, our reporters are talking to people on the scene, many of whom have described the van purposefully driving into a group who had left the mosque.
Abdikadir Warfa has told Guardian crime correspondent Vikram Dodd that he and and others caught hold of the van driver, who threw kicks and punches as he tried to escape. Mr Warfa said:
He tried to run away he tried to escape. Some people were hitting him he was fighting to run away. I heard the sound of the van crashing. One person was under the van, some were run over.
He said some of the people hit by the van were wearing Islamic clothing.
Finsbury Park – a typically diverse London suburb
Finsbury Park is a typically diverse London suburb situated a few kilometres north of the city centre. It’s home to a wide variety of nationalities and although it is undergoing a lot of change through gentrification (a theatre has opened in recent years, Pret a Manger is on the way etc), it retains a strong working-class flavour and is characterised by people from all walks of life.
It’s perhaps best known as the home of Arsenal football club. On match days, the streets – and pubs – are surrendered to thousands of fans who are disgorged from the Tube and railway station to walk down the road to the Emirates stadium.
It’s also the centre of London’s Algerian population, with the dense pocket of coffee shops and restaurants at the top of Blackstock Road known as “Little Algiers”, and before that was a popular landing point for Irish immigrants.
Finsbury Park is also known as home to the mosque linked to the radical cleric Abu Hamza. The mosque’s current leaders have sought to purge its extremist past and have it removed from black lists.
Updated
The chairman of the Finsbury Park Mosque tweets:
Our thoughts and prayers with those who got injured and effected by this cowardly attack in Finsbury Park area, many casualties in the floor
— Mohammed Kozbar (@KozbarM) June 19, 2017
'Terrible incident' – Theresa May
Prime minister Theresa May has described the situation near Finsbury Park mosque as a “terrible incident”.
“All my thoughts are with those who have been injured, their loved ones and the emergency services on the scene,” she said.
Counter-terrorism police investigating
The Guardian’s crime correspondent Vikram Dodd writes:
Counter-terrorism police are investigating a major incident in the Finsbury Park area of north London after a van hit pedestrians leaving a number of casualties. The Guardian understand that counter terrorism officers have joined regular police looking at the incident which is in its early stages. Officers are investigating whether the collision was accidental or deliberate and it is understood that armed officers have been deployed as a precaution.
Jeremy Corbyn 'totally shocked'
The Labour leader, whose constituency includes Finsbury Park, has said he is “totally shocked” by the incident and has been in touch with mosques, the police and Islington Council.
I'm totally shocked at the incident at Finsbury Park tonight. pic.twitter.com/1ffKijNs73
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 19, 2017
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, says on Twitter that the authorities are investigating a “major incident” in Finsbury Park.
Emergency services are on the scene and investigating a major incident at Finsbury Park. Follow @Metpoliceuk and @Ldn_ambulance for details.
— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) June 19, 2017
A second man has told Sky News that there were three men in the van. He said one was held by members of the public until police arrived but the other two ran away.
“There were three of them and two of them ran off. One of them was held here by worshippers until police came, but I’m worried because the other two must be somewhere around Finsbury Park.
The man said the van swerved into the crowd just as prayers ended.
“I saw six or seven people on the floor, most of them were male.”
One resident told the Press Association he jumped out of the way as the van struck pedestrians. The man, who did not want to be named, said:
The gentleman went straight down this road, people were just conversing, talking, just doing what we’re doing. And he just came into all of us. There was a lot of people. We got told to move straight away. I was shocked, shocked, shocked. There were bodies around me. Thank God I just moved to the side, I just jumped. Everyone is hurt. Everyone is actually hurt.”
The Guardian’s Richard Preston, who is on the scene, said a witness told him that an elderly man had collapsed at a bus stop and was being tended to by a crowd of people when the van hit.
Eyewitness Boubou Sougou saw the incident and says the driver deliberately piled into people on the pavement. He filmed video on his camera phone, showing people being tended to some apparently with serious injuries. In one case one person appeared to be given CPR.
Sougou, 23, said: “ It was not an accident, I saw everything. People were badly injured. The van driver tried to escape but people grabbed him. He did not say anything.”
Updated
Andrew, a courier who did not wish to give his surname, said he saw three people on the floor and at least one of them appeared to be in Muslim dress.
The 45-year-old, of St Albans, Hertfordshire, told the Press Association he was driving back from a night shift when he saw the aftermath of the collision.
He said: “When I drove past slowly I could count three people on the floor and police were performing CPR on one of them. The guy having CPR performed on him was in a gown, ethnic clothing.”
Updated
The Guardian’s crime correspondent Vikram Dodd is on the scene. He says:
I am standing on the junction of Fonthill Road and Seven Sisters Road. Police tape is up and the road is blocked by a flotilla of police vehicles. Standing back are armed police officers and local people are also standing around, some are agitated and others are slightly bemused. One or two have witnessed what happened and are in a state of shock.”
'Three men in van' – witness
A witness has told Sky News that there were three men in the van. He said one was arrested and two ran away. But this has not been confirmed. Police have simply said one man has been arrested.
To clarify, the incident took place outside the Muslim Welfare House, which contains a mosque, but not the Finsbury Park Mosque, which is some 300m away.
Photographs supplied to the Guardian by Cynthia Vanzella.
Updated
'A lot of chaos outside' – witness
A witness who lives opposite the scene of the crash has described the moment to the BBC:
From the window, I started hearing a lot of yelling and screeching, a lot of chaos outside. Everybody was shouting: ‘A van’s hit people, a van’s hit people.’ There was this white van stopped outside Finsbury Park mosque that seemed to have hit people who were coming out after prayers had finished. I didn’t see the attacker himself, although he seems to have been arrested, but I did see the van.”
Updated
At least 10 people injured – witness
While there are no official confirmation of how many people have been injured, police and the Ambulance Service have said there are a number of casualties.
A witnesses has told Sky News that at least 10 people were hit outside the mosque.
Updated
Rabbi Herschel Gluck of the Jewish security grip Shomrim, rushed to the scene.
He said: “It seems the van went on to the pavement people where there were people drinking coffee after their fast. We are here to support the local community. The hurt are predominantly Muslim.”
Updated
The incident comes towards the end of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and the holiest time of their year. During Ramadan Muslims fast daily from dawn to dusk and focus on prayer, purification and acts of charity. This year Ramadan began on 26 May and ends on Saturday 24 June.
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My colleague Richard Preston is on the scene and has spoken to witnesses.
One man, who asked not to be named, said:
I was sitting in a cafe. My cousin was injured, he’s in hospital now ... someone told me two people were stuck under the van. People tried to lift the van up. Police were quick to the scene.”
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A statement from the London Ambulance Service says it has dispatched ambulance crews, paramedics and specialist teams and an advance trauma team from London’s Air Ambulance.
We have a number of ambulance crews & specialist teams on scene at the incident on #SevenSisters Road #FinsburyPark https://t.co/oL75V7ZUWD pic.twitter.com/4SHEhzx3tr
— London Ambulance (@Ldn_Ambulance) June 19, 2017
Three seriously injured – reports
Witnesses have told the BBC that three people were seriously injured in the incident.
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Muslim Council says van 'has run over worshippers'
BREAKING: We have been informed that a van has run over worshippers as they left #FinsburyPark Mosque. Our prayers are with the victims. https://t.co/FSE5m3bFpo
— MCB (@MuslimCouncil) June 19, 2017
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Brian Whelan, a Channel Four journalist at the scene, reports that locals are angry and confused over what has happened.
Locals massing at barriers, angry at police, people confused about what has happened. pic.twitter.com/VCN9Y3PTVb
— Brian Whelan (@brianwhelanhack) June 19, 2017
The incident in Finsbury Park comes after two attacks in London since March which saw pedestrians struck by vehicles. Both were terrorist attacks. The first was in Westminster and the second came a fortnight ago in London Bridge.
A503 Seven Sisters Rd is closed N/B at Hornsey Rd & S/B at Rock St due to a police incident. The road will be closed for some time.
— TfL Traffic News (@TfLTrafficNews) June 19, 2017
Images and video from the scene posted on Twitter show several emergency service vehicles blocking the road.
This is the scene at Finsbury Park station side of cordon. Confusion as to what exactly has taken place. Helicopter up. pic.twitter.com/Rex6EFssLr
— Brian Whelan (@brianwhelanhack) June 19, 2017
Anyone an idea what exactly happened? @metpoliceuk #finsburypark #sevensisters pic.twitter.com/d4VoQtcJZr
— Thomas Van Hulle (@Thomasvanhulle) June 18, 2017
Seven Sisters Road pic.twitter.com/CikYf7jxuJ
— Diana Vanstone (@stoyanova70) June 19, 2017
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of a developing incident in Finsbury Park, north London. Police say one person has been arrested after a vehicle struck pedestrians, leaving “a number of casualties” in Seven Sisters Road.
“Police were called just after 0020hrs 19 June to reports of a vehicle in collision with pedestrians,” a statement from police said.
The London Ambulance Service said it had sent “a number of resources” to Finsbury Park.
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