Sarah Andrews, his estranged partner, told detectives that Osborne was radicalised into a terrorist murderer in three weeks. Friends and family say there were no previous signs of racism or extremism. The catalyst, police believe, came three weeks before the attack, when his attitudes began to metastasise after he watched Three Girls, a
BBC TV drama about the Rochdale grooming scandal. He also read extremist right wing propaganda online that left him “brainwashed” and a “ticking time bomb”.
Paul Gill, a terrorism expert and senior lecturer at at University College London, said radicalisation can be rapid, making it almost impossible to detect.
“It is rare, but violent extremism can occur quickly,” he said. “Brusthom Ziamani was a Jehovah’s Witness three months prior to his arrest for an Isis-inspired plot. It is usually expedited by primitive attack plans and a history of criminal activity and violence.”
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