Sir Keir Starmer said the Southport killings must act as a ‘line in the sand’ for Britain with ‘fundamental change’ required in how to protect children.
Speaking in Downing Street, the Prime Minister said he wouldn’t let ‘any institution’ of the state deflect from failures which he said ‘leap off the page’ in Southport where Axel Rudakubana murdered three young girls o.
Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the killings, had been referred to the Prevent programme three times amid a series of missed opportunities to stop him from carrying out the attack on July 29 last year.
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Starmer: Britain now faces a new threat – young men in their bedroom obsessed with vioence
Starmer has said that Britain is now facing a new threat of terrorism, from ‘loners’ rather than organised groups.
He says they have tasked commissioners to reform prevent programmes to address the new threat.
Starmer said: ‘Britain now faces a new threat. Terrorism has changed.
‘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.’
Starmer doubles-down on his defence for not revealing more details about Rudakubana
Starmer doubled-down on his defence for not revealing more details about Rudakubana – defending the decision not to release further information earlier.
He said: ‘The law of this country forbade me or anyone else from disclosing details sooner.’
The PM added: ‘Throughout this case, to this point, we have only been focused on justice. If this trial had collapsed because I or anyone else had revealed crucial details while the police were investigating, while the case was being built, while we were awaiting a verdict, the vile individual who had committed these crimes would have walked away a free man .
‘The prospect of justice destroyed for the victims and their families. I would never do that and no one would ever forgive me if I had.’
Starmer: ‘I will not let any institution of the state deflect from their failure’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Southport killings by teenager Axel Rudakubana ‘must be a line in the sand for Britain’ and there must be ‘fundamental change’ in how the country protects its children.
Condemning law enforcement failings, he said: ‘I will not let any institution of the state deflect from their failure. Failure which in this case, frankly, leaps off the page.’
On the decision to not act sooner, he said it was ‘clearly wrong’.
Starmer leads address with tributes to child victims
Keir Starmer started his address with a tribute to the victims of the Southport attack.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died following the attack at the Taylor Swift-themed class in The Hart Space on a small business park in the seaside town shortly before noon on July 29.
The Prime Minister said: ‘For the families and the nation, I first want to recognise their unimaginable grief because I know the nation grieves for them.’
WATCH: Who is Southport killer Axel Rudakubana?
RECAP: How Axel Rudakubana’s guilty plea sparked political firestorm
Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July.
It later emerged that the killer was referred three times to anti-extremism programme Prevent amid concerns over his fixation with violence. But despite this and contact with other state agencies, the authorities failed to stop the attack.
The Mail has learnt that authorities knew of Rudakubana’s disturbing interest in a school massacre as far back as 2019.
It was reported he was also referred twice in 2021 after viewing material about the 2017 London terror attack.
The Prime Minister lashed out at the crimes committed by the ‘vile and sick’ teenager, who pleaded guilty to slaughtering three young girls in Merseyside.
Sir Keir vowed to investigate what happened, saying: ‘Britain will rightly demand answers. And we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.’
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a public inquiry into Rudakubana’s murders that can ‘get to the truth about what happened and what needs to change’.
Downing Street rejected claims there had been a ‘gigantic cover-up’ ahead of Rudakubana’s court case, amid allegations by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. The PM’s spokesman told reporters it was important not to prejudice the trial, adding: ‘Clearly if the trial had collapsed and the attacker walked free, nobody would have forgiven that happening.’
Shadow Home Secretary: Government ‘didn’t share information which they had in their possession’
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has claimed it appeared the Government ‘withheld information about the perpetrator, potentially, on CPS advice’ in the case of the Southport stabbings.
Asked whether he was confident in the Prevent counter-terrorism programme, he told Times Radio: ‘The Prevent programme is a long-running programme. It deals with about 7,000 referrals per year.
‘There was quite a comprehensive review of Prevent by William Shawcross that was published in February of last year … So, one question I’ll be asking the Government is whether they plan to implement the recommendations in the Shawcross report.
‘I think it’s just important the inquiry looks at all of this, gets to the truth both about what happened beforehand, but critically also the Government’s response afterwards, and what they knew when and whether they should have put more information into the public domain.
‘It appears they withheld information about the perpetrator, potentially, on CPS advice.
‘William Shawcross has raised questions over that, saying that if you leave a void, then speculation fills it, and William Shawcross is obviously an expert lawyer, and also says there’s quite a lot you can say about these incidents afterwards.
‘But clearly in this case, the Government, it appears, didn’t share information which they had in their possession.’
The Government has said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was clear that information about the perpetrator’s past could not be made public before to avoid jeopardising the trial that had been scheduled, which is in line with the normal rules of the justice system.
Keir Starmer to DENY Southport ‘cover-up’ claims but condemn ‘failings’ that allowed killer to go on the rampage
The PM is expected to reject allegations of a ‘cover up’ of terrorist links in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity – which was followed by a wave of rioting across the country. The authorities are adamant that they could not risk the case collapsing.
Rudakubana pleaded guilty yesterday to murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July.
It has emerged he was referred three times to anti-extremism programme Prevent amid concerns over his fixation with violence.
But despite this and contact with other state agencies, the authorities failed to stop the attack which claimed the lives of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
Horrifying new details of Axel Rudakubana’s 12 minutes of terror
Axel Rudakubana’s rampage took just 12 minutes – but the effects of it will scar a community for decades.
The teenager – dressed in a green hoodie pulled up over his head and a surgical mask, despite the warm weather – arrived in a taxi outside the Hart Space in Southport.
Rudukubana stayed silent throughout the journey and refused to pay the driver upon arrival. A member of the public confronted him and told him to pay, to which the teenager responded: ‘What are you going to do about it?’
On that horror July day last year, he was seen on CCTV entering the dance studio at 11.45am. At the time, the children were making bracelets and singing along to music. Because it was a warm day, a teacher opened a window and saw Rudakubana outside, but thought nothing of it.
The young girls were enjoying a Taylor Swift-themed dance and craft day, but within 30 seconds of Rudukubana entering, screams could be heard.
Tory says Government ‘potentially withheld information’ on Rudakubana
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has claimed it appeared the Government ‘withheld information about the perpetrator, potentially, on CPS advice’ in the case of the Southport stabbings.
Asked whether he was confident in the Prevent counter-terrorism programme, he told Times Radio:
The Prevent programme is a long-running programme. It deals with about 7,000 referrals per year. There was quite a comprehensive review of Prevent by William Shawcross that was published in February of last year … So, one question I’ll be asking the Government is whether they plan to implement the recommendations in the Shawcross report.
I think it’s just important the inquiry looks at all of this, gets to the truth both about what happened beforehand, but critically also the Government’s response afterwards, and what they knew when and whether they should have put more information into the public domain. It appears they withheld information about the perpetrator, potentially, on CPS advice.
Keir Starmer’s full statement after Southport killer pleads guilty to murders
Here is Keir Starmer’s full statement after Axel Rudakubana admitted murdering three girls in Southport on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
Our thoughts are with the families of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar – and the families of everyone affected – who will be saved the ordeal of a protracted trial.
The news that the vile and sick Southport killer will be convicted is welcome.
It is also a moment of trauma for the nation and there are grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls.
Britain will rightly demand answers. And we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.
At the centre of this horrific event, there is still a family and community grief that is raw; a pain that not even justice can ever truly heal.
Although no words today can ever truly convey the depths of that pain, I want the families to know that our thoughts are with them and everyone in Southport affected by this barbaric crime. The whole nation grieves with them.
Starmer rejects ‘gigantic cover-up’ claims put forward by Farage
Downing Street rejected claims there had been a ‘gigantic cover-up’ ahead of Rudakubana’s court case, amid allegations by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
The PM’s spokesman told reporters it was important not to prejudice the trial, adding: ‘Clearly if the trial had collapsed and the attacker walked free, nobody would have forgiven that happening.’
Rudakubana pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court to the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
He admitted the attempted murders of eight other children – who cannot be named for legal reasons – as well as class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
He also pleaded guilty to having a kitchen knife in a public place and will be sentenced on Thursday.
Prevent counter-extremism programme ‘needs to change’, says terror expert
Prevent, the UK’s flagship anti-terror strategy, needs to change because of the internet, according to the Government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation.
Jonathan Hall KC has told BBC Radio 4 this morning a review of Prevent was needed when asked what is needed from a public inquiry into the Southport attacks.
He said there were questions over which authorities should deal with people obsessed with violence but not driven by ideology.
I mean, you’ve got to go back to the 2000s, so there were the terrible 7/7 attacks on the London transport system, and the real threat there was Islamist terrorism coming from al Qaeda, which was group based. There was an emir, a leader. There were preachers, and there was this radicalising ideology, and the idea was you’d scoop up people who were obsessed by this sort of ideology, de-radicalise them, and that would help the public.
But we’re living in a different world now, which is the internet world, where people don’t go to individuals. They’re not part of groups. They go to the computer, and they sometimes get a whole mix of stuff, and sometimes, I’m afraid, they just become obsessed by violence.
Asked whether Prevent was working, Mr Hall said: ‘It needs to change because of the internet. That’s the key factor.’
Public inquiry launched to ‘get to the truth’ about Rudakubana’s murders
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last night announced a public inquiry into Axel Rudakubana’s murders that can ‘get to the truth about what happened and what needs to change’.
She said it was ‘essential’ there were answers about the ‘terrible’ Southport attack.
The Mail has learnt that authorities knew of Rudakubana’s disturbing interest in a school massacre as far back as 2019.
He was referred to the Government’s de-radicalisation scheme Prevent that year on the basis that he had been researching for information about the killing of children in school shootings.
It was reported he was also referred twice in 2021 after viewing material about the 2017 London terror attack.
But experts deemed that there was no counter-terrorism risk at the time as he was considered not to be motivated by a terrorist ideology.
Keir Starmer to give emergency address after admitting state ‘failed’ Southport victims
Good morning and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as Keir Starmer prepares to deliver an address to the nation from Downing Street on the Southport murders.
The Prime Minister will speak after the Government announced an inquiry into how the state failed to identify the risk posed by the killer Axel Rudakubana.
Rudakubana, who pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July, was referred three times to anti-extremism programme Prevent amid concerns over his fixation with violence.
But despite this and contact with other state agencies, the authorities failed to stop the attack which claimed the lives of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
The Prime Minister lashed out at the crimes committed by the ‘vile and sick’ teenager, who pleaded guilty to slaughtering three young girls in Merseyside in July.
Stick with us as we bring you live updates from Downing Street.