THE Southport killer was obsessed with the Manchester Arena bombing and took a knife to school – but cops said he didn’t pose a terror threat.
Counter-extremism police THREE TIMES closed investigations on Axel Rudakubana despite him being caught googling mass shootings and carrying weapons, a damning report has today found.
Twisted Rudakubana was last month jailed for at least 52 years
PAProtesters outside Liverpool Crown Court waiting for the prison van to leave with Rudakubana[/caption]
A horrifying machete and sheaf was found during a search of the killer’s home
A separate review of the entire scheme is being conducted to see how it can stop more atrocities.
Twisted Rudakubana, 19, was last month jailed for at least 52 years for the murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, to death on July 29.
He also attempted to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
Among other atrocities, he was fascinated by the Ariana Grande concert bombing in 2016 which killed 22 people, including children.
FAILURE TO REFER KILLER
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said today that the killer was reported to Prevent three times but not referred for further monitoring.
Mr Jarvis said: “The review concluded that too much focus was placed on the absence of a distinct ideology, to the detriment of considering the perpetrator’s susceptibility, grievances and complex needs.
“There was an under-exploration of the significance of his repeat referrals, and the cumulative risk, including his history of violence.”
He added: “The overall conclusion of the review is that he should have been case managed through the channel multi-agency process, rather than closed to Prevent.
“This would have enabled to co-ordinated multi-agency risk management and support.”
The Government has accepted all 14 recommendations for improvements in the learning review that focused on Rudakubana, Mr Jarvis said, as he identified Islamist extremism as the most dangerous terror threat to the UK.
The security minister said counter-terror police have visited all Prevent areas across the country to see if there are outstanding issues identified in the report.
He said the Government has begun an internal review of the Prevent thresholds, which will be completed in April.
Mr Jarvis said the review will: “Ensure Prevent can deal with the full range of threats we see today, from Islamist extremism, which is the most significant terrorist threat that the UK faces, through to the fascination with mass violence that we saw in the Southport case.”
He went on to tell MPs: “The perpetrator was referred to Prevent three times between December 2019 when he was aged 13, and April 2021 when he was 14.
“Those referrals were made by his schools. The first referral reported concerns about them carrying a knife and searching for school shootings on the internet.
“The second referral was focused on his online activity relating to Libya and Gadaffi.
“His third referral was for searching for London bombings the IRA and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“On each of these occasions, the decision at the time the perpetrator should not progress to the channel multi agency process.”
Six separate calls were also made to police about the teenager.
AFPRudakubana was obsessed with the Manchester Arena bombing[/caption]
Matthew Pover – The SunInjured victims are treated on the platform at Victoria Station in Manchester city centre after the bombing in 2017[/caption]
Mr Jarvis went on to say Rudakubana will be considered as a “registered terrorist offender” and treated as a “person convicted of an offence under the Terrorism Act”.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice told the Commons: “This Prevent learning review into the Southport horror is shocking and it reveals a series of massive failures to the point of gross negligence by people in Prevent.
“But it’s also clear from this review, it uses some crucial words here – it made him more susceptible to be drawn into terrorism, which I think appears to indicate that the review has found that the killer was a terrorist.
“Therefore I think the Government and the CPS need to be crystal clear with the British people: Are they now accepting that this monster, this was a terror incident?”
Mr Jarvis replied: “The honourable member has asked me to be crystal clear so I will be.
“The perpetrator has been found guilty of a terrorism-related offence and will therefore be considered as a registered terrorist offender and subject to the associated sentencing procedures and will be treated as a person convicted of an offence under the Terrorism Act.”
VALDO CALOCANE
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp called for the inquiry into Rudakubana to consider his past mental health interventions.
Mr Philp asked Mr Jarvis to “confirm that it will be a statutory inquiry”, adding: “That is important so it has powers to compel witnesses to attend, take evidence under oath, and obtain documents.
“It is vital we get to the truth about the opportunities which may have existed to stop Rudakubana committing these sickening murders.”
Turning to the Nottingham triple killer Valdo Calocane, Mr Philp told the Commons: “Both Rudakubana and Calocane could potentially have been sectioned and detained under the Mental Health Act, and if that had happened perhaps these murders could have been avoided.”
In his response, Mr Jarvis said: “Let me confirm to him in response to his question that it will begin on a non-statutory footing.
“That is deliberate in order to get it up and moving as quickly as possible but it will then be moved onto a statutory footing, so I can give him that assurance.”
He added: “The precise terms of reference of the inquiry are still being agreed because that is a process that we need to agree and discuss with the family members, but I completely understand why he’s made that point and also I completely understand why he’s referenced the terrible attacks that took place in Nottingham and I can say to him, as he may know, that this Government is supporting an inquiry into the attacks which took place in Nottingham.”
The head of Counter-Terrorism Policing, Matt Jukes, said: “We have taken the unprecedented step of publishing the review.
“It describes decisions made in line with policy in place at the time, in a system that was not equipped to deal with emerging risks that were very different to those it had been built to address.
“In this case, there were at least 15 contact points with public services – health, education and social care systems, and the police.
“We want to see a system where every one of those contacts counts, and where the sum total of all of them taken together is seen as the red flag that it should be.”
Mr Jukes said that cases where young people are drawn into extreme violence online, combined with mental health and social challenges, should have “a clear home” rather than being passed between organisations.
Jarvis committed the Government to publishing future independent Prevent learning reviews into incidents of national importance.
The Government has also announced the Prevent learning review into the 2021 killing of Southend West Conservative MP Sir David Amess will be released next week.
JAILED FOR LIFE
Last month Liverpool Crown Court heard details of the Southport children’s injuries that were so horrific, their parents asked the media not to repeat them.
Rudakubana has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 52 years following the horrific triple murder.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Goose said would have killed all 26 children in the community space if he could have done.
He also said it was highly unlikely that Rudakubana will ever be released.
Timeline of events related to the Southport stabbings
AXEL Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Here is a timeline of events relating to the case:
2002: Rudakubana’s father Alphonse moves to the UK from Rwanda, according to an interview he gave to his local newspaper in Southport in 2015.
August 7, 2006: Rudakubana is born in Cardiff, Wales.
2013: The family – including Rudakubana’s father, mother and older brother – move from Wales to Banks in Lancashire, a few miles from Southport.
July 29, 2024: Shortly before midday, a knifeman enters a dance class at The Hart Space in Hart Street in Southport.
Bebe, Elsie and Alice are fatally wounded. Eight other children are injured, as are instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
Police say they have detained a male and seized a knife.
Within hours, claims spread online that the suspect is an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023.
Some claims include an alleged identity.
July 30, 2024: In the evening, a peaceful vigil is held outside Southport’s Atkinson arts venue, where flowers are laid in memory of those who died.
Shortly after the vigil, a separate protest begins outside the town’s mosque in St Luke’s Road.
People throw items towards the mosque, property is damaged and police vehicles are set on fire.
July 31, 2024: Demonstrators gather in Whitehall, London, for an “Enough Is Enough” protest.
Flares and cans are thrown at police and more than 100 people are arrested.
Disorder also breaks out in Hartlepool, County Durham, and Aldershot, Hampshire.
August 1, 2024: Police announce that Rudakubana has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article.
He is not named by police because of his age.
He appears in court in Liverpool and Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC rules he can be named, as he is due to turn 18 in a week.
He initially smiled on entering the courtroom – then kept his face covered by his sweatshirt for the remainder of the proceedings before the case was adjourned.
Later that evening, demonstrators gather outside a hotel in Newton Heath, Manchester.
August 2, 2024: Three police officers are taken to hospital after disorder in Sunderland.
August 3, 2024: There are scenes of violence during planned protests across the UK, including in Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham and Belfast.
August 4, 2024: Disorder continues, including outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where masked demonstrators launch lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers.
August 5, 2024: The Government holds an emergency Cobra meeting in the wake of the disorder and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vows to “ramp up criminal justice”.
That evening, a peaceful vigil is held in Southport, a week on from the killings. Police deal with disorder in Plymouth, Devon and Darlington, County Durham.
August 7, 2024: Prison sentences for those involved in the unrest begin to be handed out. Derek Drummond, 58, is the first person to be jailed for violent disorder at Liverpool Crown Court, where he is sentenced to three years.
More than 100 protests are planned for across the country, with counter-demonstrations taking place, but the majority of police forces report very little trouble.
October 29, 2024: Merseyside Police announces Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink the next day charged with production of a biological toxin, Ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
October 30, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink from HMP Belmarsh to face the two new charges.
He holds his sweater over the bottom half of his face and does not respond when asked to confirm his name.
November 13, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court via videolink. He covers his face with his grey sweatshirt and does not speak throughout the hearing.
About 20 family members of victims sit in the public gallery. The case is adjourned until December 12, when a preparatory hearing will take place.
January 20, 2025: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court for the first day of his trial where he pleads guilty to all 16 charges, including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was also among the victims
Bebe King, 6, was among the youngsters stabbed
PAAlice da Silva Aguiar[/caption]
Rudakubana could be seen pacing 30 minutes before he murdered three children
Pixel8000He arrived at the dance centre in a taxi[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
