Government announces inquiry into Southport attack

A nationalist enquiry volition beryllium held into the Southport murders, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced.

On Monday, Axel Rudakubana pleaded blameworthy to sidesplitting Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9 who had been attending a Taylor Swift-themed creation people successful the town.

Government sources person told the BBC that Rudakubana had been referred to the government's counter-terrorism Prevent programme respective times anterior to the onslaught successful Southport implicit his wide obsession with violence.

In a connection earlier the enquiry was announced, the premier curate said determination were "grave questions to answer".

Sir Keir Starmer said "Britain volition rightly request answers" adding: "We volition permission nary chromatic unturned successful that pursuit."

"At the centre of this horrific event, determination is inactive a household and assemblage grief that is raw; a symptom that not adjacent justness tin ever genuinely heal," helium said.

"Although nary words contiguous tin ever genuinely convey the depths of that pain, I privation the families to cognize that our thoughts are with them and everyone successful Southport affected by this barbaric crime.

"The full federation grieves with them."

Conservative person Kemi Badenoch has besides said determination are questions to reply astir the case.

In a societal media post, she said: "We volition request a implicit relationship of who successful authorities knew what and when. The nationalist deserves the truth."

At a tribunal proceeding successful December past year, not blameworthy pleas had been entered connected behalf of Rudakubana, nevertheless connected Monday greeting helium admitted to sixteen charges including the execution of the 3 girls connected 29 July past year.

He besides pleaded blameworthy to the attempted murders of 8 children and 2 adults, possession of a weapon connected the time of the murders, producing a biologic toxin, ricin, and the possession of an al-Qaeda grooming manual - a panic offence.

The BBC has been told that earlier the attack, Rudakubana had been referred to Prevent due to the fact that of concerns astir his wide obsession with violence.

In December 2019, Rudakubana - past aged 13 - returned to the schoolhouse from which helium had been expelled and assaulted a pupil with a hockey stick, breaking their wrist.

In the aforesaid twelvemonth helium had told Childline helium was going to instrumentality a weapon into schoolhouse due to the fact that of radical bullying.

The NSPCC, which runs Childline, said that 1 telephone was "sufficiently superior to breach a threshold which led to Childline informing the section authorities of their concerns".

Speaking extracurricular tribunal connected Monday, Ursula Doyle, the CPS prosecutor, said Rudakubana was "a young antheral with a sickening and sustained involvement successful decease and unit - he's shown nary signs of remorse".

Rudakubana is owed to beryllium sentenced connected Thursday and is expected to beryllium fixed a beingness sentence.

However, helium cannot beryllium sentenced to a whole-life word for his crimes - which would mean helium would not beryllium released from situation but successful exceptional compassionate circumstances - due to the fact that helium is nether the property of 21.