Southport attack blamed on ‘catastrophic’ failures by agencies and killer’s ‘irresponsible’ parents
Axel Rudakubana was able to carry out the attack due to “catastrophic” failures by multiple agencies and the “irresponsible and harmful” role of his parents, according to a damning public inquiry.
Sir Adrian Fulford condemned the “inappropriate merry-go-round” of state bodies passing responsibility and their “frankly depressing” refusal to accept accountability, stating:
“This culture has to end.”
The inquiry chair emphasized that the murder of the three young girls – Bebe King, six, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven – and the stabbing of 10 others was not “a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky.”
He added:
“Instead, some form of grave violence … had been clearly, repeatedly and unambiguously signposted over many years.
Indeed, several professionals who had direct contact with [Rudakubana] expressed serious fears, sometimes in stark terms, that he would go on to harm or kill.”
Rudakubana was sentenced to life imprisonment last year following his violent assault on young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in the Merseyside town on 29 July 2024.
In a statement delivered at Liverpool town hall as the report was published, Fulford said he was certain that if proper procedures had been followed and sensible actions taken by agencies and Rudakubana’s parents, the tragic event would not have occurred.
“It could have been and it should have been prevented.”
He described the failure at both organisational and individual levels to “stand up and accept responsibility” for managing the risk posed by the perpetrator as a “frankly depressing – and therefore urgent – matter requiring government attention.”
“Far too often, AR’s ‘case’ was passed from one public sector agency to another in an inappropriate merry-go-round of referrals, assessments, case-closures and ‘hand-offs’.”
Fulford also criticized agencies for neglecting to investigate Rudakubana’s “chilling” internet activity, noting that his engagement with “degrading, violent and misogynistic” content fueled his obsession with violence and enabled him to amass an arsenal including knives, a crossbow, petrol bombs, and materials to produce the deadly poison ricin.
The judge indicated that in the inquiry’s second phase, he would consider whether new powers should be introduced to monitor or restrict internet use of young people deemed a threat.
He stated that the “pervasive failure to act on [Rudakubana’s] dangerousness, with some notable exceptions, was a fundamental failure in this case.”
'Missed opportunity' saw rookie police officers tell Rudakubana's parents to hide their knives
A significant missed opportunity occurred in March 2022 when Rudakubana went missing from home and was found carrying a knife on a bus, telling police he intended to stab someone. He also admitted to contemplating the use of poison.
Instead of arresting the teenager as protocol required, two inexperienced police officers returned him home and advised his parents to conceal their knives.
The report concluded that had Rudakubana been arrested, his home would likely have been searched, uncovering the ricin seeds he had purchased and terrorist-related material on his computer.
Fulford concluded:
“Rigorously putting out of mind the so-called ‘benefits of hindsight’, I have no doubt that if appropriate procedures had been in place and if sensible steps had been taken by the agencies and [Rudakubana’s] parents, this dreadful event would not have happened. It could have been and it should have been prevented.”
Rudakubana was referred to Prevent, the counter-terrorism agency, three times due to concerning remarks and online searches made at school. Each referral was dismissed because he lacked a clear ideology such as jihadism or right-wing extremism. Counter-terrorism officers have since acknowledged this was an error.
He was known to authorities from October 2019, when, at age 13, he made several calls to Childline admitting to murderous thoughts about a bully and stated he had brought a kitchen knife to school on ten occasions.
Two months later, he returned to school armed with a hockey stick and assaulted another pupil, breaking their wrist. Police found a knife in his backpack and arrested him on suspicion of assault and carrying a bladed article.
Fulford stated that early risk indicators were not properly understood and that information was not adequately shared between agencies.
“As a consequence,” the inquiry chair said, “the significance of subsequent events were seriously underestimated and opportunities to intervene were lost. This was a critical factor in [Rudakubana’s] risk never being properly appreciated.”
Fulford: Professionals 'excused' Rudakubana’s violent behaviour
Fulford criticized a recurring tendency among professionals to “excuse” Rudakubana’s escalating violent and unpredictable behaviour due to his suspected and later confirmed autism diagnosis, calling this approach “both unacceptable and superficial.”
He acknowledged that professionals acted in good faith despite many shortcomings.
However, he added:
“The frankly depressing – and therefore urgent – matter requiring government attention is this failure, at an organisational and individual level, to stand up and accept responsibility for managing the risk that [Rudakubana posed].
Far too often, [the killer’s] ‘case’ was passed from one public sector agency to another in an inappropriate merry-go-round of referrals, assessments, case-closures and ‘hand-offs’.”
To prevent a recurrence, Fulford emphasized that this “culture has to end,” stating:
“This failure lies at the heart of why [Rudakubana] was able to mount the attack, despite so many warning signs of his capacity for fatal violence.”
He noted that earlier intervention by schools, health workers, or police would have exposed Rudakubana’s fascination with violence sooner.
“This in turn would have revealed earlier criminal acts committed or in preparation by the perpetrator leading to significant criminal justice and counter-terrorism interventions.”
Fulford also assigned “considerable blame” to Rudakubana’s parents, Alphonse and Laetitia Muzayire, for failing to set boundaries or confront their son, despite recognizing their struggles.
“They had knowledge that he had purchased some weapons, and they knew he had tried to leave the house to carry out some form of attack at his old school just one week prior to the fatal attack, when there was a real risk that he was armed with a weapon.
They also knew of empty knife packaging once the perpetrator left the family home on the day of the fatal attack.”
Britain’s multi-agency model for troubled young people 'completely failed'
Publishing his 260-page report at Liverpool town hall, Sir Adrian Fulford stated that Britain’s multi-agency model for troubled youth had “completely failed” and recommended that ministers establish a dedicated agency or structure to oversee complex offenders like Rudakubana.
He identified a “fundamental failure” by any organisation to take ownership of the risk Rudakubana posed, highlighting a “disturbing lack of clarity” about which agency, if any, was the lead.
Fulford added:
“Numerous systems that should have provided oversight, assessment and protection were ineffective or inadequately used. Some failed outright. The consequences were catastrophic.”
The inquiry expressed “profound concerns” about the “misguided and irresponsible” actions of Rudakubana’s parents, who discovered weeks before the attack that their son was assembling a lethal arsenal but failed to alert police for fear he would be arrested or taken into care.
Fulford stated:
“If the full extent of [Rudakubana’s] family’s concerns had been shared with authorities in late July 2024 – including on the day of the attack – it is almost certain this tragedy would have been prevented.”
Britain’s multi-agency model for troubled young people 'completely failed'
State failing to learn lessons of Southport attack, say victims’ lawyers
Victims’ lawyers have stated that ministers are “failing to learn the lessons” from the attack and are allowing violence-obsessed teenagers to remain a “catastrophic” threat to society ahead of the inquiry’s findings.
The report by Sir Adrian Fulford, released on Monday, is expected to strongly criticize failings by various agencies, including the counter-terrorism programme Prevent.
Rudakubana was referred to Prevent three times, but concerns were dismissed partly because he did not express a clear ideology.
Counter-terrorism officials have since promised that individuals without clear ideological motives but with obsessions with extreme violence, like Rudakubana, will now be considered by Prevent.
However, a analysis found that fewer than one in ten of the 3,400 cases involving children and teenagers with such concerns received anti-radicalisation support in the year to March 2025.
Chris Walker, solicitor for the families of the three murdered girls – Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice da Silva Aguiar – described the system as “not fit for purpose” and called for fundamental changes to reduce serious risks to society.
Starmer: 'We will act on inquiry's recommendations'
Addressing whether the government would act on the Southport inquiry’s recommendations, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters:
“I gave my word that we will get to the bottom of this and that’s why we’ve set up the inquiry.
We will act on the recommendations, it’s really important that we do so. So obviously there will be the full report, there will be the recommendations, we can go through them in detail – but this, for me, is a matter of principle.
It’s absolutely right that we act on the findings of this, and we will act on those findings.”
When questioned on accountability for organisations, Starmer said:
“There does have to be accountability, there should always be accountability.
The first most important thing is to look at what those recommendations are, what needs to change, and to be a government that says ‘we’re going to carry this, we’re going to do what we said’ – we gave our word on this and when we give our word, we’ll follow through on that.”
Obligation is to provide answers to victims and families, says inquiry chair
Chair Sir Adrian Fulford, who will publish his report at midday, stated the obligation to provide answers to victims and their families.
Concluding the hearings in November, he said:
“Our principal responsibility lies to them, to provide the best possible explanation as to why and how this terrible event occurred, and to be brave about suggesting the changes that ought to be made to prevent, if we can, a repetition.”
A second phase of the inquiry will be informed by the findings of phase one and is expected to focus on the risk posed by young people with fixations or obsessions with acts of extreme violence.
Solicitor: 'This cannot be another navel-gazing exercise for government'
The inquiry, held over nine weeks at Liverpool Town Hall last year, heard from more than 100 witnesses, including 67 who gave live evidence.
It covered Rudakubana’s involvement with health services, social care, education, and the three referrals to Prevent, all of which were closed before the attack.
Solicitor Nicola Brook from Broudie Jackson Canter, representing survivors Leanne Lucas, John Hayes, and Heidi Liddle, said:
“Sitting through the extensive list of failings exposed during the first phase of the inquiry provoked an understandably complex mix of emotions for our clients, who battle the daily consequences of survivors’ guilt.
We hope the report will expose every entity that failed to act in time to prevent this catastrophic attack, and any agencies that are found to be at fault are committed to not just learning lessons but demonstrating, publicly, that they are committed to taking every step to prevent such an atrocity from happening again.
We cannot look back on this inquiry in years to come and summarise it as another navel-gazing exercise for the government.
There is no regulatory mechanism to ensure that recommendations are properly considered and acted upon at the end of an inquiry, which is why we are strongly urging the chair to implement a process to monitor the progress of all recommendations and provide evidence to support them, as happened at the Manchester Arena Inquiry.
Since that harrowing day, our clients’ thoughts have remained with the bereaved and will remain so today.”
Findings of public inquiry into Southport attack to be published at midday
The findings of the public inquiry into the Southport attack are scheduled for release at 12pm.
The inquiry examined evidence about the attack and the involvement of state agencies with Axel Rudakubana, aged 19, in the lead-up to the incident.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King, and Elsie Dot Stancombe were murdered when Rudakubana entered the Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop at The Hart Space, armed with a knife, on 29 July 2024.
At the time, Rudakubana was 17 years old. He also attempted to murder eight other children, whose identities are protected by law, as well as class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
