Rigby’s fiancée calls his killers cowards

THE fiancée of murdered soldier Lee Rigby branded his killers “cowards” as they began the first day of their life sentences.

Michael Adebolajo, 29, was given a whole life term for the barbaric killing and Michael Adebowale, 22, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 45 years at the Old Bailey yesterday.

Aimee West, who planned to marry the soldier in 2016, said: “They are cowards. They compare themselves to British soldiers, they say they’re soldiers of Allah.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“They’re not soldiers. They can’t possibly compare themselves to Lee.

“They attacked an unarmed man, from behind using a car as a weapon. They are not soldiers.”

Both killers showed no remorse, leaping to their feet as they were jailed, Adebolajo proclaiming “allahu akbar” (God is great) yards from Fusilier Rigby’s family in the public gallery.

Miss West said: “We’d spent the whole trial sitting there but there was a screen put up but yesterday they took the screen down for us...

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Just to see them kick off in the way that they did and start shouting, it was quite violent and just brought it all back. Just the images going round in your head again of that day in May, what it would have been like to be there.”

“We kind of suspected that there would be a whole life sentence given out because the judge delayed the sentencing for more legislation to be passed.

“It’s the best outcome we could have got and to see that they weren’t happy about it – that it’s not what they wanted – it wouldn’t be torture for them to be killed, which is what they wanted.

Fusilier Rigby, a father-of-one, had asked Miss West to marry 
him in February 2013, three months before he was murdered and just before she was posted to Afghanistan with the Royal Military Police.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“He was really scared about me going. I just had to keep reassuring him,” she said.

“He was definitely traumatised by his tour of Afghanistan. I just had to keep reassuring him that we do completely different jobs.

“He was so loud and bubbly, everyone knew if he was there everyone knew about it. He just lit up the room... He was very soppy. I’m not at all like that. He was definitely worse than I was.”

Miss West revealed that 20 minutes before he was murdered, Fusilier Rigby phoned her on his way home and said he loved her.

“He was in London and I was in Afghanistan. If anything was going to happen to one of us, we always thought it would be me.”

Related topics: