Kemi Badenoch (Image: Getty Images)
Kemi Badenoch has slammed the government’s “silence” in the days after the horrific Southport murders.
The Tory leader said that despite the launch of a public inquiry into the tragedy, “serious questions” remain about the transparency of information at the time of the UK-wide unrest that followed.
Her warning came after Sir admitted that he knew about Axel Rudakubana terror links in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
Posting on X she welcomed an inquiry into the Southport murders but said it contrasts with the “government silence in the days following the horrific attacks”.
The Prime Minister’s announcement of an inquiry into the Southport murders is welcome.But contrast his press conference in No10 this morning with the govt silence in the days following the horrific attacks. There remain serious questions about the transparency of government…
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch)
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She added: “There remain serious questions about the transparency of government information at the time of the unrest that followed these horrific killings.
“Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, has warned about the govt leaving an ‘information gap’ in serious cases such as this.
“So I’m pleased the govt has announced an inquiry into the Southport murderer, there were clearly multiple state failings and it must never happen again.
“But, when the were trying to toughen the Prevent anti-extremism programme, Starmer and Cooper were running for office on manifestos worried about Prevent ‘alienating communities’”.
Sir Keir was forced to deny a “cover-up”, insisting that he could not make the information public at the time because it would have prejudiced the killer’s – Axel Rudakubana’s – trial.
“Yes, I knew the details as they were emerging. That is the usual practice in a case such as this,” he said during a press conference.
“But you know and I know that it would not have been right to disclose those details.”
He added: “The law of this country forbade me or anyone else from disclosing details sooner.”
, the Reform UK leader, said: “The Prime Minister is once again hiding behind the contempt of court argument.
“This is simply untrue, the country needed to know the truth about this murderer and that he was known to the authorities.
“Even MPs were banned from asking questions about this man’s background. Cover-up Keir convinces no one.”
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer delivers a statement at 10 Downing Street in London, after the Gover (Image: PA)
Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, has said the riots last summer showed that “the scope for saying little or nothing is squeezed out by social media”.
‘Loners and misfits’
Sir Keir said Britain faced a new threat of terrorism from “extreme violence carried out by loners, misfits, [and] young men in their bedrooms” following the Southport murders.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said that “there is quite a lot you can put into the public domain without prejudicing legal proceedings” as he suggested that there should have been more transparency earlier on over the Southport attack.
Asked whether it was right to criticise the authorities when the priority was to ensure that justice could be served in a possible trial, Mr Philp told Radio 4’s Today programme: “There is quite a lot you can put into the public domain without prejudicing the judicial proceedings.
“In previous incidents, we’ve seen more information being put out and Jonathan Hall drew attention to the risks of not putting out information, it undermines trust in justice, but it also creates a void.
“So, I think these are legitimate questions. I think it’s important the inquiry looks at those questions as well as what happened before this appalling incident.”