'Terrorism has changed': PM says Southport killings 'must be a line in the sand for Britain'

21 January 2025, 08:41 | Updated: 21 January 2025, 09:38

Sir Keir Starmer warned of a 'new terrorism' that Britain is facing
Sir Keir Starmer warned of a 'new terrorism' that Britain is facing. Picture: Alamy

By Asher McShane

Sir Keir Starmer warned today of a new breed of terrorist emerging in the UK made up of violent 'loners and misfits,' in the wake of the Southport killings.

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In an address to the nation, The Prime Minister said "the whole country grieves" for the victims of the attack and that it "must be a line in the sand for Britain."

He said there must be "fundamental change" in how the country protects its children.

He also dismissed claims of a ‘cover-up’ and said any inquiry should be 'unburdened by cultural sensitivities'  adding that institutions will not be allowed to 'deflect' responsibility. 

He flatly rejected allegations of a 'cover-up' of terrorist links in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity, saying he knew about the details 'as they were emerging' but could not risk the case collapsing and the 'vile' perpetrator walking away free.

His comments come one day after Axel Rudakubana, 18 admitted murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport.

"The names of those three girls… must be associated with a fundamental change in how Britain protects its citizens," Sir Keir said.

Read more: Southport killer Axel Rudakubana had an 'obsession with extreme violence' devices owned by teen reveal

Read more: Southport killer prevented from travelling to former school just week before launching knife attack

Axel Rudakubana admitted killing three girls at a Taylor Swift themed dance club
Axel Rudakubana admitted killing three girls at a Taylor Swift themed dance club. Picture: Merseyside Police

He said that "institutional failure ‘leaps off the page' and warned that ‘terrorism had changed’.

He said that the violence seen in the Southport attack was a new form of terrorism committed by ‘loners and misfits’

L-R) Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine and Bebe King were killed
L-R) Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine and Bebe King were killed. Picture: PA

He said the perpetrators were "sometimes inspired by traditional terrorist groups, but fixated on ‘extreme violence… for its own sake."

"The predominant threat was highly organized groups with clear political intent, groups like Al Qaeda.

"That threat, of course, remains, but now alongside that, we also see acts of extreme violence perpetrated by loners, misfits, young men in their bedroom accessing all manner of material, online, desperate but notoriety, sometimes inspired by traditional terrorist groups, but fixated on that extreme violence, seemingly for its own sake."

Nick Ferrari reacts to 'horrific' mugshot of Axel Rudakubana

He dismissed suggestions that 'immigration and funding cuts' were behind the attack.

Sir Keir said failures in the case "leap off the page".

He said: "We must make sure the names of those three young girls are not associated with the vile perpetrator but instead with a fundamental change in how Britain protects its citizens and its children.

The Southport killings sparked a wave of riots across the country
The Southport killings sparked a wave of riots across the country. Picture: Alamy

"In pursuit of that, we must, of course, ask and answer difficult questions, questions that should be far-reaching, unburdened by cultural or institutional sensitivities and driven only by the pursuit of justice. That is what we owe the families.

"The responsibility for this barbaric act lies, as it always does, with the vile individual who carried it out. But that is no comfort, and more importantly, it is no excuse.

"And so as part of the inquiry launched by the Home Secretary yesterday, I will not let any institution of the state deflect from their failure, failure, which in this case, frankly leaps off the page.

"For example, the perpetrator was referred to the Prevent programme on three separate occasions - in 2019 once and in 2021 twice.

"Yet on each of these occasions, a judgment was made that he did not meet the threshold for intervention, a judgment that was clearly wrong and which failed those families. And I acknowledge that here today."

Scenes from court yesterday where Axel Rudakubana admitted the Southport killings
Scenes from court yesterday where Axel Rudakubana admitted the Southport killings. Picture: Alamy

The Home Secretary has announced that there will be a public inquiry into how Southport child-killer Axel Rudakubana "came to be so dangerous" and why Prevent "failed to identify the terrible risk" he posed to others.

Yvette Cooper confirmed the 18-year-old had "contact with a range of different state agencies throughout his teenage years" before carrying out his "meticulously planned rampage" at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

Ms Cooper said in a statement: "He was referred three times to the Prevent programme between December 2019 and April 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."

A court sketch of Axel Rudakubana
A court sketch of Axel Rudakubana. Picture: Alamy

Announcing the public inquiry, the Home Secretary continued: "Although, in line with CPS advice to preserve the integrity of the prosecution, we were constrained in what we were able to say at the time, the Home Office commissioned an urgent Prevent Learning Review during the summer into the three referrals that took place and why they were closed.

"We will publish further details this week, alongside new reforms to the Prevent programme.

"But 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."

She added: "It is essential that the families and the people of Southport can get answers about how this terrible attack could take place and about why this happened to their children."

Head of counter-terrorism policing Matt Jukes said details of the referrals to Prevent, made by education providers, will be shared after Rudakubana pleaded guilty.

He said: "Information about these referrals have not been withheld due to any lack of candour.

"We have taken advice from the Crown Prosecution Service on what information could be released and when, so as not to risk justice being delivered."

Lancashire Child Safeguarding Partnership said Rudakubana had been involved with agencies including children's social care, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and police.

A spokesman said an independent child safeguarding practice review had been commissioned to look at the roles of all the agencies involved with Rudakubana.

Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, will be sentenced on Thursday.

He is not expected to receive a whole life order because he was 17 at the time of the murders. The measures can normally only be imposed on criminals aged 21 or over, and are usually only considered for those aged 18 to 20 in exceptional circumstances.

Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff, also admitted possessing a knife on the date of the attack, production of a biological toxin, ricin, on or before July 29, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

The terrorism offence relates to a PDF file entitled Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual, which he is said to have possessed between August 29 2021 and July 30 2024.

The ricin, a deadly poison, and the document were found during searches of the home in Old School Close which he shared with his parents, originally from Rwanda.

Rudakubana's unexpected change of pleas on Monday meant families of his victims were not in court to see them entered, having expected the trial to be opened on Tuesday.

Unrest erupted across the country in the wake of the Southport attack, with mosques and hotels used for asylum seekers among the locations targeted.

In the hours after the stabbing, information spread online which claimed the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a small boat.

The day after the attack, thousands turned out for a peaceful vigil in Southport, but later a separate protest outside a mosque in the town became violent, with missiles thrown at police and vans set on fire.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it would present "relevant details of the defendant's past" to the court on Thursday.

More than 1,000 arrests linked to disorder across the country have been made since the attack, and hundreds have been charged and jailed.

The stabbings prompted members of the royal family to make contact with those who were affected, with the King suspending his traditional Balmoral break to visit some of the injured children, and the Prince and Princess of Wales making a surprise visit to the town to meet the bereaved families.

Kate also invited the young survivors to her annual Christmas carol concert.

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