Bombshell probe reveals Southport killer should have been treated as a terror threat

Southport killer Axel Rudakubana should have been treated as a terror threat, a bombshell report will reveal.

Monster Rudakubana, 18, – who stabbed three schoolgirls to death and attempted to kill eight more – was referred to the Government’s counterterrorism scheme – Prevent – three times.

A shocking report will today conclude officers were wrong not to escalate his case as a potential terror threat.

A probe found enough evidence for Prevent officers to refer Rudakubana to the next stage of the scheme, Channel, which aims to divert individuals from radicalisation.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the Times Crime and Justice Commission: “What that [the report] concluded was that in this case, he should have been referred to the Channel programme … that too much focus was placed on the lack of ideology.

“Not enough focus was also given to the issues around the fact that there were three different referrals. And it already does include, in the Prevent guidance, the need to look at cases where, for example, there is an obsession with a school massacre or extreme violence.

“Clearly in this case, although the reviews concluded that Rudakubana should have been referred to Channel, he wasn’t. And it raises wider questions for the Prevent programme about the way in which it deals with … some of the cases where there is mixed or unclear ideology.”

Participation in the Prevent and Channel programmes is currently voluntary. Still, Ms Cooper told the Times that the Government will introduce new terror orders for young people who refuse to engage with them as part of the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill.

Under the new youth diversion orders, children as young as 10 could be restricted from using the internet, or they could face a fine and a community sentence of up to six months, the Times reported.

Others aged 18-21 will face up to two years in prison for breaching the order, it added.

Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, told the Daily Express that MI5 and counter-terrorism police exploit an arsenal of tools to disrupt extremists.

Mr Hall pointed to how a specialist police unit monitors terrorist offenders and regularly goes “round and knocks on the door”, adding this could be mirrored for potential killers or those identified as a risk to the public.

But “that system doesn’t exist” for other violent offenders, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation told the Daily Express, leading to more missed opportunities to stop potential atrocities.

Rudakubana was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 52 years.

The teenager earlier pleaded guilty to the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, as well as the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

The teenager in 2019 contacted Childline and asked: “What should I do if I want to kill somebody?”

He said he wanted to kill a bully at Range High School in Formby and admitted he had taken a knife to school.

Rudakubana was spoken to by police, who also spoke to the school, and officers made a vulnerable child referral to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub.

He was excluded from the school and transferred to the specialist Acorns School in Ormskirk, Lancashire.

In December 2019, he returned to the Range High School and attacked a pupil with a hockey stick. He also had a kitchen knife in his backpack.

Rudakubana was arrested, charged and taken to court, where he admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a bladed article.

He was then referred to the Government’s de-radicalisation programme – Prevent.

This followed comments he made about mass shootings for researching Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and the 2017 London Bridge terror attack.

In 2022, Rudakubana’s mother called the police to report him missing after he left the house while his parents were out. He was found on a bus after the driver called police when he refused to pay his fare.

When officers arrived, Rudakubana admitted he was carrying a knife.

He said that he wanted to stab someone so that he would get into trouble and his account, which contained embarrassing videos that he was unable to delete, would be closed down by the police.

Opening the sentencing hearing at Liverpool Crown Court, Prosecutor Deanna Heer said the Southport killer was heard to say: “It’s a good thing those children are dead… I am so glad… I am so happy.”

She told the court Rudakubana remained silent in police interview, but in custody, made a number of “unsolicited comments,” including, “I don’t care, I’m feeling neutral,” and “So happy, six years old. It’s a good thing they are dead, yeah.”

Prime Minister Sir has suggested changing the definition of terrorism to cover violence that terrorises members of the public.

The Home Secretary has also said a public inquiry will “get to the truth about what happened and what needs to change.”

Ms Cooper said: “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 May 2021 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.”

The teenager had a sickening obsession with violence.

But the case has exposed more failings with Prevent and its inability to deal with violent individuals when there is no terrorist ideology motivating them.

Ms Cooper added: “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.

“This horrendous attack will leave a lasting impact on our country.

“We will all remember Alice, Bebe and Elsie, and we will always stand with the families and the community who are living with the pain of their loss.

“In our efforts to answer the questions that remain about this case, the need to see justice done for the victims and their families will remain at the forefront of our minds.”

Mr Hall said of the threat: “People, often neuro-diverse, loners, access stuff online and get inspired to carry out acts of violence or inspire other people with compelling propaganda.

“The question is ‘who on earth is managing the risk of these people?

“Once you have decided they can’t be treated as either terrorists or potential terrorists, the Government’s Prevent programme isn’t suitable for them, who manages their risk?

“Neighbourhood policing is about reactive policing. About reacting to an attack on the street. It’s not about looking at what intelligence personnel call ‘subjects of interest’ and saying ‘let’s keep our eye on him and work out what we can use to disrupt him.

“That’s what you might call offender management or risk management. It’s quite effective in the terrorism world and that’s what is missing with someone like that.

“Someone who could say ‘this guy is so risky that every time he offends, we are going to prosecute him to the max, if we can’t prosecute him, we are going to get a civil order. We’re going to do everything we can to keep our eye on him and intervene as and when we can.

“That system doesn’t exist.”