Michael Adebolajo (left) and Michael Adebowale, who have been found guilty of murdering Lee Rigby. Photograph: Enterprise News and Pictures

Old Bailey jury finds pair guilty of fatally attacking soldier in street near Woolwich barracks in south London

Report By Vikram Dodd and Josh Halliday   

Two men have been convicted of murdering a soldier in broad daylight near a military barracks in London, in the first al-Qaida-inspired attack to claim a life on British soil since 7 July 2005.

Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, murdered Lee Rigby, 25, as he returned to the Woolwich barracks in south London, in May.

They were convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey in central London, which heard that the soldier was almost beheaded in the attack.

The jury took just over 90 minutes to reach its verdicts. Both men were found not guilty of the attempted murder of a police officer. Relatives of Rigby cried as the verdicts were given.

Rigby's stepfather, Ian, wiped away tears and put his arm around the soldier's mother, Lyn, who was sobbing.

Mr Justice Sweeney, who ordered that the decisions be heard in silence, said he would pass sentence after a key appeal court ruling on the use of whole life terms in January.

Adebolajo looked at the press and kissed his Qur'an as he was taken to the court cells.

Adebolajo, from Romford, Essex, and Adebowale, from Greenwich, south London, claimed they were soldiers of Allah and their violence was a reprisal against western foreign policy, which had led to the deaths of Muslims.

At the time of the attack, Rigby was attached to the regimental recruiting team and was on his way back to barracks in Woolwich from a shift working at the Tower of London. Previously he had served a tour of duty in Helmand, Afghanistan, fighting Islamist militants.

His wife, Rebecca Rigby, said: "I would like to thank everyone who has helped us to finally get justice for Lee.

"This has been the toughest time of our lives and no one should have to go through what we have been through as a family. These people have taken away my baby's dad, but Lee's memory lives on through our son and we will never forget him.

"I now want to build a future for Jack and make him proud of his dad like we all are."

Rigby's mother said: "We would like to thank everyone for their overwhelming support. We are satisfied that justice has been served; but unfortunately no amount of justice will ever bring Lee back. We now ask that we are left alone to grieve for our loss."

Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, the head of the Met's specialist operations, welcomed the verdicts: "We are pleased that justice has been done. At this very difficult time, our thoughts are with Lee's family and all those who knew and loved him. This horrific attack, which took place in broad daylight on the streets of London, shocked the country and was intended to divide communities. It had largely the opposite effect and has, in fact, brought people together.

"The court heard of extraordinary acts of courage and compassion from members of the public at the time of this terrifying and dreadful incident."

The brother of one the killers said the attack was inevitable and the justification for Rigby's death was obvious. Speaking to al-Jazeera's Investigations Unit, Jeremiah Adebolajo, who like his brother Michael is a Muslim convert, predicted another Woolwich-style attack due to British foreign policy.

In the interview, the 26-year-old, who was banned from attending the Old Bailey for some of his brother's trial for security reasons, said: "I suggest that it won't be the last [attack], simply because of the tactics of the British secret service and foreign policy. For every violent action is a violent reaction."

David Cameron, speaking to reporters in Brussels, said: "The whole country was completely shocked by the murder of Lee Rigby, and the whole country united in condemnation of what happened, and I'm sure everyone will welcome these verdicts today.

"I think it also shows that we have to redouble our efforts to confront the poisonous narrative of extremism and violence that lay behind this and make sure we do everything to beat it in our country."

Farooq Murad, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "The murder of Drummer Lee Rigby was truly a barbaric act. Muslim communities then, as now, were united in their condemnation of this crime. This was a dishonourable act and no cause justifies cold-blooded murder."After Rigby was attacked in the street, Adebolajo was filmed on the mobile phones of passersby, justifying the murder as a strike against the west, in language echoing the propaganda of violent jihad.

In the footage, Adebolajo said: "You people will never be safe."

Brandishing a cleaver and a knife in his bloodied hands, and with the body of Rigby lying metres away, Adebolajo said: "We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reason we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day. This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

"We must fight them. I apologise that women had to witness this today. But in our land our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don't care about you.

"You think David Cameron is going to get caught in the street when we start bussin' our guns? You think politicians are going to die? No it's going to be the average guy, like you, and your children. So get rid of them. Tell them to bring our troops back so you can all live in peace."

The pair hung around for several minutes before armed police arrived at the scene. The two men then rushed the officers, who shot the pair. They claimed they wanted to be shot dead so they would be martyrs.

Adebolajo decided before one court hearing that he wished to be called after one of the most notorious Islamist extremists in British history. He asked to be addressed as Mujaahid Abu Hamza. His co-accused asked to be addressed as Ismail Ibn Abdullah during proceedings.

The murder raised questions for the security services, who had had both men on their radar.

They had been known to MI5 and the police for eight years but had been assessed as peripheral figures and thus not subjected to a full-scale investigation.

Adebolajo, who was born into a church-going Nigerian family but converted to Islam, had complained of harassment by MI5 in the last three years after he came to the intelligence agency's attention. He was detained by Kenyans for suspected extremist activity in 2010 and later deported to Britain, the Foreign Office confirmed.

Adebowale was also a convert to Islam. As a teenager, he witnessed a murder and was himself stabbed in a frenzied knife attack five years ago. He suffered from psychotic episodes caused by cannabis abuse and by the psychological effects of being caught up in the fatal stabbing incident in January 2008, when he was 16.

Both attackers had attended events of the extremist group al-Muhajiroun and, after it was banned, of its successor groups.

Adebolajo and Adebowale face sentences of life imprisonment, with the main issue for the judge being how long a minimum tariff they should serve before they can even be considered for release.

Adebolajo showed no remorse for his actions during the trial, telling jurors that he was a "soldier of Allah" and that he had no choice but to obey the command of Allah. He described how he held the soldier's hair as he hacked at his neck in a motion described by one witness as like a "butcher attacking a joint of meat".

Another horrified bystander said he "instantly believed that he was trying to cut the victim's head off" when he saw the man using a meat cleaver to mutilate Rigby's motionless body. A third witness said Adebolajo had a look of pure evil after attacking Rigby's head while his accomplice rammed knives into his chest like he was "trying to remove his organs from his torso".

Source: The Guardian, UK