LONDON: Britain on Tuesday marked the first anniversary of a deadly terror attack against a north London mosque, with Prime Minister Theresa May vowing that “vile extremism” will not divide the nation.

Mourners held a minute’s silence at 9.30am to remember father-of-six Makram Ali, who died when Darren Osborne ploughed a hire van onto a crowded pavement close to Finsbury Park mosque, intending to kill as many Muslims as possible. The attack, on June 19 last year, also left 12 injured.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn attended the event at nearby Islington Town Hall, along with the imam of the mosque, Mohammed Mahmoud.

“A man ridden with racism drove a vehicle into a crowd of people and tried to divide and destroy our community,” said Corbyn.

“We will never allow them to destroy us. Stay united, stay together, support each other!”, he added.

Osborne, 48, left a note in the van, in which he said he was seeking revenge for Islamist terror attacks and a child sex scandal, and named mayor Khan as someone that he also wanted to kill. The mayor paid tribute to the response of the local community. “The way this community has responded has inspired us all,” he said.

“When Londoners face adversity we stand up for our values. This is our city, this is our way of life. For those who seek to divide us, the message is ‘you will never succeed’.” Osborne, from the Welsh capital Cardiff, was in February sentenced to life in prison with a minimum 43-year term.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2018