UK faces new terrorism threat from 'loners and misfits' after Southport attack, says Keir Starmer

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The Prime Minister has warned that the UK is facing a new wave of terrorism, characterised by "extreme violence carried out by loners, misfits, young men in their bedrooms", following the horrific Southport attack.

Axel Rudakubana, an 18 year old, admitted to the brutal killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside, back in July.

Despite having been on the radar of state agencies such as Prevent, which is designed to counteract terrorism, the authorities were unable to prevent the tragic attack that took the lives of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced an inquiry into the case on Monday evening, stating that the nation required "independent answers" regarding Prevent and other agencies' interactions with the "extremely violent" Rudakubana and "how he came to be so dangerous".

In his speech this morning (January 21), Sir Keir Starmer said: "The predominant threat was highly organised groups with clear political intent groups like al Qaida. That threat, of course, remains but now alongside that we also see acts of extreme violence perpetrated by loners, misfits, young men in their bedroom accessing all manner of material online desperate for notoriety, sometimes inspired by traditional terrorist groups, but fixated on that extreme violence, seemingly for its own sake."

The PM continued: "My concern in this case is we have clearly got an example of extreme violence, individualised violence, that we have to protect our children from and our citizens from. It is a new threat, it's not what we would have usually thought of as terrorism when definitions were drawn up, when guidelines were put in place, when the framework was put in place and we have to recognise that here today."

He said the law and framework for responding needed to be appropriate to the "new threat" and whatever changes were necessary in the law would be made. Sir Keir stated: "I do think it's new. You've seen versions of it in America with some of the mass shootings in schools.

"It is not an isolated, ghastly example. It is, in my view, an example of a different kind of threat and that is why I'm absolutely so determined that we will rise to that challenge and make sure that our law, our response, is capable, appropriate and can deal with that sort of threat.

"But that is my concern, that is my thinking that this is a new threat individualised extreme violence, obsessive, often following online viewing of material from all sorts of different sources. It is not a one-off. It is something that we all need to understand and have a shared undertaking to deal with within our society.

"That is not just the laws on terrorism, the framework on terrorism, it's also the laws on what we can access online. "We still have rules in place in this country about what you can see at a cinema and yet online you can access no end of material. We have to ensure that we can rise to this new challenge and that is what I'm determined to do."

Speaking about the inquiry announced on Monday, Sir Keir highlighted the apparent failures of state institutions in the Rudakubana case, saying: "As part of the inquiry launched by the Home Secretary yesterday, I will not let any institution of the state deflect from their failure – failure which in this case, frankly, leaps off the page."

He added: "For example, the perpetrator was referred to the Prevent programme on three separate occasions in 2019 once and in 2021 twice. Yet, on each of these occasions, a judgment was made that he did not meet the threshold for intervention a judgment that was clearly wrong and which failed those families. And I acknowledge that here today."

Justice Goose stated that Rudakubana from Banks in Lancashire, will receive his sentence on Thursday. It's anticipated Rudakubana won't face a whole life order due to being aged 17 at the time he committed the murders. Normally, such sentences are reserved for criminals aged 21 or above, exceptions being made for those between 18 to 20 but only in extraordinary circumstances.

Rudakubana, born in Cardiff, has also confessed to the attempted murder of eight other children whose identities are concealed for legal reasons, along with class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

He also admitted to carrying a knife on the day of the assault, producing a biological toxin, ricin, on or before July 29, and possessing information that could aid someone planning or executing an act of terrorism.

The terror-related charge refers to a PDF file titled Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual, which he is alleged to have had in his possession between August 29, 2021, and July 30, 2024.

The deadly poison ricin and the document were discovered during searches of the Old School Close residence he shared with his parents, who are from Rwanda.

Documents concerning Nazi Germany, the Rwandan genocide, and car bombs were found on Rudakubana's devices during police searches of his home.

Insiders stated that the material demonstrated an "obsession with extreme violence" but there was no evidence that he adhered to any political or religious ideology or was "fighting for a cause".

Following the Southport attack, unrest broke out nationwide, with mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers among the sites targeted.

Online information circulated alleging that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a small boat.

The day after the attack, thousands attended a peaceful vigil in Southport, but a separate protest outside a mosque in the town later turned violent, with projectiles hurled at police and vans set ablaze.

Since the attack, over 1,000 arrests related to nationwide disorder have been made, with hundreds charged and incarcerated.

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