Romford man accused of Rigby murder was ‘a soldier of Allah’

A Romford man accused of murdering Fusilier Lee Rigby told detectives he was involved in a “war between the Muslims and the British people”.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, who lived in Eastern Avenue East and went to Marshalls Park School, is said to have hacked his victim to death with a meat cleaver and knives on May 22 near Woolwich barracks in south-east London.

During police interviews played to a jury at the Old Bailey, Abebolajo, covered by a blue blanket, said there was a “war between the Muslims and the British people” and he was a “soldier of Allah”.

Asked what happened to Lee Rigby, Adebolajo said: “He was struck in the neck with a sharp implement and it was sawed until his head, you know, almost detached and may Allah forgive me if I acted in a way that is displeasing to him.”

In an earlier interview, the murder suspect told officers the “leaders” of Britain were “wicked, corrupt, selfish and oppressive” and he was “particularly disgusted by David Cameron, the Miliband brothers and what’s-his-name, Nick Clegg”.

He added that people do not realise the “wickedness and corruption” of former prime minister Tony Blair.

Occasionally revealing his face to the camera, Adebolajo said: “It’s for those people who have not yet understood the nature, the nature of the war that’s ongoing and has been ongoing for some many years between the Muslims and the British people.”

Lee Rigby’s widow, Rebecca, left the court in tears as the interviews were played.

Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, 22, of Greenwich, both deny murder. The trial continues.