Home Secretary announces public inquiry into Southport attacks

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced a public inquiry into the Southport attacks. The news comes on the day Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty to killing Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9.

The three victims had been attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the town. Ms Cooper said it was “essential” there were answers about the “terrible” attacks, announcing a public inquiry “that can get to the truth about what happened and what needs to change”

In a statement, she said: “The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been clear that important information about the perpetrator’s past could not be made public before today to avoid jeopardising the legal proceedings or prejudicing the possible jury trial, in line with the normal rules of the British justice systems. Nothing has been more important than securing justice for the families.

“But now that there has been a guilty plea, it is essential that the families and the people of Southport can get answers about how this terrible attack could take place and about why this happened to their children.

“The responsibility for these terrible murders and the barbaric attack lies with Axel Rudakubana. The CPS has described him as ‘a young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence’ who has ‘shown no sign of remorse’."

Rudakubana, an 18-year-old from Banks in West Lancashire, was also charged with attempting to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and two adults, Leanne Lucas and John Hayes, who were also stabbed but survived the attack.

He faced another count of possession of a bladed article in a public place, specifically a kitchen knife with a curved blade.

Axel Rudakubana faced additional charges of producing a biological toxin, specifically ricin, and having information likely to be useful for terrorism, in the form of a PDF file titled "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual" in October. Despite refusing to stand or even state his name in court, while surrounded by security and accompanied by an intermediary, defense counsel Stanley Reiz KC requested that the indictment be read again to his client, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Seated, Rudakubana pled guilty to all charges and is set for sentencing on Thursday this week.

Ms Cooper added: “But the families and the people of Southport also need answers about what happened leading up to this attack. The perpetrator was in contact with a range of different state agencies throughout his teenage years. He was referred three times to the Prevent programme between December 2019 and April aged 13 and 14. He also had contact with the police, the courts, the Youth Justice system, social services and mental health services. Yet between them, those agencies failed to identify the terrible risk and danger to others that he posed.

“This terrible case comes against a backdrop over a series of years in which growing numbers of teenagers have been referred to Prevent, investigated by counter-terror police, or referred to other agencies amid concerns around serious violence and extremism. We need to face up to why this has been happening and what needs to change. Although, in line with CPS advice to preserve the integrity of the prosecution, we were constrained in what we were able to say at the time, the Home Office commissioned an urgent Prevent Learning Review during the summer into the three referrals that took place and why they were closed.

“We will publish further details this week, alongside new reforms to the Prevent programme. But we also need more independent answers on both Prevent and all the other agencies that came into contact with this extremely violent teenager as well as answers on how he came to be so dangerous, including through a public inquiry that can get to the truth about what happened and what needs to change.”