'Always looking over his shoulder': Axel Rudakubana to be 'number 1 target' in jail, top prison officer warns
24 January 2025, 19:57 | Updated: 24 January 2025, 19:59
Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana will be "target number one" in jail, a top prison officer has warned.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 52 years in prison on Thursday for the murder of three girls and the attempted murder of eight more, as well as two adults.
He killed Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside, in July last year. The teen tried to kill eight more children and two adults.
Mark Fairhurst, the head of the Prison Officers' Association, said that Rudakubana's life would be "absolute hell" in prison.
He added: "He is target number one. He'll be looking over his shoulders for the next 52 years."
Ken Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, said Rudakubana would be "leading a very solitary and hard existence" behind bars.
He told LBC's Tom Swarbrick that the killer would be held in "effectively solitary conditions, because he will be at serious risk of injury in prison."
Macdonald said that it would be prison officers' job "to keep him safe from other prisoners if he's threatened by them."
He said that he would be kept in a secure unit with other "at-risk" prisoners, but would probably be imprisoned separately even from those convicts.
Rudakubana was given one of the longest sentences ever handed out without being a whole-life tariff - but the 52-year term is set to be reviewed amid concerns it is “unduly lenient.”
Sentencing him on Thursday, the court confirmed the killer could not be jailed for life because he was 17 at the time of the attack, despite his "determination" to inflict "extreme violence".
Southport's MP Patrick Hurley called for Rudakubana to be handed a longer sentence to ensure he dies in prison.
How the Southport stabbing attack unfolded
Referring the case to the Attorney General, he said: "In my view, the sentence passed is unduly lenient. The crimes he committed were horrific and natural justice demands he spends the rest of his life behind bars.
"I have therefore made a request to the attorney general to have the sentence reviewed urgently, with a view to making sure he is never released. My community deserves nothing less."
The Attorney General's office has since confirmed the case was referred under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
A spokesperson said: "There is a high threshold for a successful ULS reference.
Meanwhile it emerged on Friday that Rudakubana had been treated by Alder Hey Children's Hospital between 2019 and 2023.
Alder Hey said it welcomed the announcement of an inquiry into the circumstances of the murders.
The trust added that Rudakubana had "stopped engaging" with its mental health services in 2023.
Separately, Rudakubana had also been reported to the Prevent anti-terror service three times.
Nick Ferrari has questions after Axel Rudakubana's sentencing
A spokesperson for the hospital said: "Following the terrible incident last July, we are participating fully in a children's safeguarding practice review commissioned by the Chidren's Safeguarding Partnership, to identify if any learnings could be made."
They added: "We are not in a position to provide any further details that could potentially prejudice that inquiry and will be making no further comment at this time."
Keir Starmer said the atrocity in Southport was "one of the most harrowing moments in our country's history" and "this vile offender will likely never be released."
Axel Rudakubana sentenced: The judge's full ruling
The Prime Minister said in a statement after the sentencing: "The thoughts of the entire nation are with the families and everyone affected by the unimaginable horrors that unfolded in Southport. No words will ever be able to capture the depth of their pain.
"I want to say directly to the survivors, families and community of Southport - you are not alone. We stand with you in your grief.
"What happened in Southport was an atrocity and as the judge has stated, this vile offender will likely never be released.
"After one of the most harrowing moments in our country's history we owe it to these innocent young girls and all those affected to deliver the change that they deserve."
