Threat of terrorism still "very real" on Finsbury Park attack anniversary

The threat of terrorism is "still very real", London mayor Sadiq Khan said on the sixth anniversary of the Finsbury Park terror attack.

Makram Ali, 51, died and 11 others were injured on June 19, 2017 when Darren Osborne drove a van into worshippers outside the Muslim Welfare House shortly after Ramadan evening prayers.

Osborne, from Cardiff, was found guilty of terrorism-related murder and jailed for life in February 2018.

Mohamed Mamoud - the imam who was hailed for calming fellow Muslims and preventing retaliation after the attack - was later made an OBE for services to the community in London.

Mr Khan said the local community's reaction to the attack "showed how Londoners will always stand together".

"My thoughts are with the family and friends of Makram Ali who so tragically lost his life and all those who were injured in the Finsbury Park terror attack six years ago," he said.

"The way the local community responded to the attack showed how Londoners will always stand together in the face of such hate and division and those who wish to harm our way of life will never succeed.

"London's rich diversity is our greatest strength, and we will never be cowed by terrorism.

"The evolving threat of terrorism is still very real which is why I am continuing to take action by investing record amounts in the police and funding important projects which help our communities stand up to all forms of hate so that we can build a safer London for everyone."

At a memorial service at Finsbury Park mosque last year, Mr Ali's daughter Ruzina Akhtar said that her father was "one of the most gentle human beings you could have met" who "always had a smile on his face and was cracking jokes at the most random of times to make others laugh".

"He was a compassionate husband, a loving father and doting grandfather who was adored by everyone," she said.

She said his death had left "a black hole".

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