One in seven children referred to Prevent are 'violent-fixated' as Children’s Commissioner warns we could have 'another Southport attacker on streets'
The Children’s Commissioner has told LBC that 70% of children referred to the government’s anti-terror programme are "violent-fixated" and warned there could be "another Southport attacker" waiting on Britain's streets.
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Rachel de Souza warned in a new report of "closed doors and dead ends" for many education providers when they refer young people to Prevent.
Referrals to Prevent involving children have risen in the past decade, from 2,918 in 2016-17 to 4,715 in 2024-25.
Axel Rudakubana, who when aged 17 killed three girls at a dance class and tried to murder eight others as well as two adults in the Southport attack in July 2024, had been referred to the organisation three times, but his case was closed over a lack of clear ideology.
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In a new report, published on Tuesday, Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel said the current process called for a "stronger safeguarding response particularly for children who are fixated with violence but have no identified extremist ideology".
Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast after it was published, Dame Rachel said: "When the Southport killings of those three little baby girls happened, and I realised that the killer had been back three times and turned back three times for Prevent, I decided it was time to look into it.
"I talked to everyone from prison governor to counter-terrorism police to some of these kids who are violent fixated.
"I've looked at all the data, and counter-terrorism police and Prevent are fantastic at dealing with Islamic radicalised children or far-right radicalised children.
"They know how to deprogram and they sort it out. But 70% of the referred children referred to Prevent are non-specific ideology, violence-fixated children."
Asked specifically what they were being referred for, Dame Rachel said: "They are idolising school shooters, going on extreme violence sites and getting other children to self-harm while they watch, watching extreme material.
"They might have a bit of one ideology and a bit of another.
"Prevent wasn't really set up to deal with non-ideological children, so often they don't even get through first pass, and they get 90% of all referrals just sent right back."
"The numbers have doubled, it's about 5,000 ultra-violent, fixated often children."
Dame Rachel added there "very well could have" another Southport attacker walking Britain's streets, which is why she said she is taking action now.
The chairman of the Southport inquiry previously said officers were “hampered” by a lack of clarity on whether they should take someone on who demonstrated signs of being fixated on violence but without adherence to a particular ideology.
Among her report’s recommendations, Dame Rachel has called for the Home Office and Department for Education to issue joint statutory guidance on children who pose a risk to others.
She said this should require all children deemed to be violence-fixated, or for whom there are concerns around being drawn into terrorism, or other criminality, to be referred to local authority safeguarding teams alongside Prevent.
She also called for a national database of evidence-based interventions for children at risk of causing harm, including for those fixated on violence, but who do not have an ideology.
A Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring all children are safe from radicalisation and Prevent plays a crucial role in this, moving more than 6,000 people away from violent ideologies since 2015.
"Every Prevent referral is assessed thoroughly by experts.
"If it’s determined a person is not at risk of being drawn into terrorism, it is right they are supported by other, more appropriate services.
"We thank the Children’s Commissioner for her report.
"We are reviewing it alongside our work in response to the Southport Inquiry – including developing further options to manage those fascinated with extreme violence."