Southport killer Axel Rudakubana’s supervision was downgraded before ‘pre-planned attack’ on prison officer
10 May 2025, 23:33
Southport triple killer Axel Rudakubana's supervision was downgraded before he allegedly 'hurled boiling water over a prison officer' at HMP Belmarsh, according to reports.
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The 18-year-old allegedly used a kettle in his cell to heat water up and then poured boiling water over the officer on Thursday.
It is claimed he targeted the prison officer through the hatch in the door of his cell, with the officer taken to hospital as a precaution.
The officer did not require further treatment and was discharged later that evening, it is understood.
It comes just weeks after Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, reportedly attacked prison officers with boiling oil in a prison kitchen.
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Rudakubana was arrested after his attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in which he killed Elsie Stancombe, seven, six-year-old Bebe King and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar.
The teenager was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 52 years - one of the highest minimum terms on record.
He also attacked eight other children and one of the instructors of the class, Leanne Lucas, as well as businessman John Hayes, who attempted to disarm him.
It is being reported in The Sun that Rudakubana's prison supervision was downgraded in recent weeks as he was previously in a healthcare unit being monitored round the clock.
Shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, said the alleged attack by Rudakubana was the “third astonishing security failure at a top security prison”.
In a post on X, Mr Jenrick said: “Warning after warning has been ignored."
“I personally raised security at HMP Belmarsh just last week," he continued in the post.
“This is a full blown crisis. No more lengthy ‘reviews’ – the Justice Secretary needs to act NOW.”
The incident has since been confirmed by the Prison Service, with a statement insisting such behaviour would "not be tolerated".
"Police are investigating an attack on a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh yesterday," a Prison Service spokesperson told the outlet.
"Violence in prison will not be tolerated and we will always push for the strongest possible punishment for attacks on our hardworking staff."
Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the Prison Officers Association (POA), told The Sun: "Why are we giving people like Rudakubana the same privileges and freedoms as other inmates? It makes no sense.
"We have to base everything on risk and don't give access to things with which they can attack staff.
"We have to have super-max security units, based on the American system, for inmates like him. Prisoners like this are not going to reform or rehabilitate."
The hatches in prison cell doors are usually used to pass medication to prisoners.
The number of assaults on staff in adult prisons in England and Wales per year has reached its highest level in a decade, according to data from the Ministry of Justice.
Some 10,605 assaults on staff in male and female jails were recorded in 2024, up from 9,204 in 2023 and nearly three times the 3,640 in 2014.
Four guards were attacked with hot oil and homemade weapons by Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi at HMP Frankland in County Durham in April, with the inmate transferred to Belmarsh after the incident.
In response to the rise in attacks, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood previously announced that the use of tasers will be trialled in prisons and confirmed the Prison Service will conduct a "snap review" of the use of protective body armour for prison officers.
