Man accused of murdering soldier in Woolwich says victim was fair target and he tried to kill him in the most humane way

One of the two men accused of murdering the soldier Lee Rigby told police he attempted to behead the soldier because "the most humane way to kill any creature is to cut the jugular", a court has heard.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, told detectives in a video interview played to jurors on Thursday that he considered Rigby to be a fair target and that he was the "non-Muslim version of myself".

Rigby's mother, Lyn, watched in tears as Adebolajo told police in the interview shown to the court he did not have a "personal vengeance" against the Rigby family and that it saddened him to cause them heartache.

The latest evidence came as prosecutors revealed that Adebolajo was known to MI5 and owned extremist Islamic literature.

Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, 22, deny murdering Rigby on 22 May this year as he walked to his military barracks in Woolwich, south London. They also deny conspiracy to murder a police officer and attempted murder of a police officer.

In a 45-minute interview played to jurors, Adebolajo described how the attack unfolded.

"On 22 May me and my brother Ismael [Adebowale] set out determined that this day we will obey the command of Allah.

"We decided to wait in the vicinity of the barracks in Woolwich. By the command of Allah we waited to find a soldier because we decided that the soldier is the most fair target because he joins the army with the understanding that your life is at risk if you join the army.

"We set out and it just so happened that he [Rigby] was the solider that was spotted first. Almost as if Allah had chosen him for some reason he chose to cross in front of our vehicle. Things happened so quickly you know. When I thought about obeying Allah I thought maybe is it possible to kill a man by driving into him.

"When he crossed the road so casually in front of me it was almost as if I was not in control of myself. I accelerated. I hit him, and I think I also crashed into a signpost."

Adebolajo spoke slowly to police as he described his next move: "We exited the vehicle and I am not sure how I struck the first blow. I do not remember to be honest. But I concluded many, many years ago that the most humane way to kill any creature is to cut the jugular.

"Why make it prolonged? He is a man. He may be my enemy but he is a man so I struck at the neck and attempted to remove his head. And that is how Lee Rigby died."

Cloaked in a light-blue cell blanket and with his left arm in a cast, the court heard Adebolajo tell detectives he had been generous with his time and that he believed Rigby's family would want to hear more from him.

He attacked politicians as "filthy pigs" but reserved praise for the Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, who he said was the only one to answer "straight questions".

The police interview, carried out 10 days after the Woolwich attack, ended with Adebolajo telling detectives he did not think about life beyond 22 May in the belief that he would become a "shaheed", or martyr.

Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow told the jury that extremist literature – including speeches by the radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki and lectures on jihad – were found at addresses linked to Adebolajo and Adebowale.

A poster for the Syrian jihadi group Al-Nusra Front was found on a computer at Adebowale's home, the jury heard, and a book titled Extreme Islam was found at Adebolajo's father's home.

The court was told that Adebowale's BlackBerry phone, found in the pocket of a Barbour jacket he wore on the day of the attack, contained numerous files about martyrdom, including one document called The Story of an American Jihaadi.

It was also revealed in court that MI5 visited the Greenwich flat of Adebolajo in the year before the attack. Adebolajo told police to ask MI5 for his address "because they had visited him there early this year", Glasgow told the jury.

A statement read to the court on behalf of retired brigadier Ian Liles described Rigby as "an extremely professional, popular and witty soldier" who was well-known and liked by all who came across him.

"His loyalty and work ethic were beyond reproach, and no matter how arduous the task, he carried it out to the best of his ability and always with a smile on his face," Liles said.

The trial continues.