A man arrested on suspicion of carrying out the rampage is a Saudi doctor, anti-Islam activist and supporter of the hard-Right AfD.

The suspect, a 50-year-old man who moved to Germany in 2006, has posted long comments on social media claiming that German politicians are deliberately trying to “Islamicise” the country, citing his admiration for the hard-Right AfD party and saying that former Muslims face persecution in Europe.

On Friday evening, a BMW drove at full speed into a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg that was teeming with shoppers. The car sped for 400 metres through the crowd, killing five people, including a small child, and injuring at least 60 others.