Axel Rudakubana pleads guilty to Southport murders - six key developments

The UK government has announced there will a public inquiry into how Southport child killer Axel Rudakubana “came to be so dangerous” .

Axel Rudakubana was referred to an anti-extremism programme three times before he carried out a “meticulously planned rampage” at a Southport dance class, it has emerged.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the 18-year-old had “contact with a range of different state agencies throughout his teenage years” before killing Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July last year.

The defendant admitted their murders on Monday, as well as the attempted murders of eight other children, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

Cooper said in a statement: “He was referred three times to the Prevent programme between December 2019 and April 2021 aged 13 and 14.

Read the latest developments following his guilty plea from Yahoo's media partners below, or click to skip ahead

> Public inquiry announced into Southport murders

> Killer was referred to counter-extremism scheme three times

> Southport attacker showed violent behaviour in school

> How violence-obsessed teen unleashed horror

> Why killer can't receive whole life sentence

> Southport attacker’s ricin 'killed my cat'

Public inquiry announced into Southport murders

An inquiry into the Southport stabbings has been announced by the government.

In a statement, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The families and the people of Southport need answers about what happened leading up to this attack."

She added that "more independent answers" are needed on what happened - "including through a public inquiry that can get to the truth about what happened and what needs to change".

• Read the full article on Sky News

Killer was referred to counter-extremism scheme three times

The teenager who murdered three young girls at a dance class in Southport was referred three times to Prevent, the government’s scheme to stop terrorist violence, the Guardian has learned.

One of the referrals followed concerns about Axel Rudakubana’s potential interest in the killing of children in a school massacre, it is understood.

• Read the full exclusive story from the Guardian

Southport attacker showed violent behaviour in school

The teenager who killed three girls in a stabbing at a Southport dance class showed violent behaviour while in high school, it is understood.

The teenager, who is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, is believed to have left Range High School in Formby in around 2019, before moving to a specialist school.

Teachers at the specialist school, which was within the borough of Sefton, were concerned about Rudakubana’s behaviour and his violence towards others, it is understood.

• Read the full story from PA Media

How violence-obsessed teen unleashed horror

When Axel Rudakubana got into a taxi in summer last year, the country had no clue of the horrors he was about to unleash on the town of Southport.

The then 17-year-old travelled by taxi to the Hart Space, where he ambushed a class of children aged between six and 11 who were starting their summer holidays at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Merseyside. The frenzied attack... was described as like a scene from a disaster film when he targeted the girls while a teacher and a grandfather nearby bravely tried to defend the screaming children.

• Read the full report from The Independent

Why killer can't receive whole life sentence

Rudakubana's crimes are so severe that they may have warranted a whole life order. These were imposed on the likes of Lucy Letby, Wayne Couzens and Mark Fellows in recent years and mean that an offender can never be considered for release on licence.

However, under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, whole life orders can only be given to a defendant who was aged 18 or above at the time of committing their crimes. Rudakubana was aged 17 on the date of his offences in July last year.

• Read the full story from the Liverpool Echo

Southport attacker’s ricin killed my cat, neighbour claims

A neighbour of the Southport killer says the ricin produced by Axel Rudakubana poisoned her cat.

Caroline McDonald, 50, was left heartbroken when her nine-year-old cat Jo Jo died less than 24 hours after police found him in a forensics tent. Detectives found ricin, a biological toxin, during a search of Rudakubana’s home in early August that presented “a low risk to the public”, Merseyside Police said.

• Read the full story from the Telegraph