Public inquiry into Southport murders begins

Axel Rudakubana was referred to the Prevent anti-terror scheme three times between 2019 and 2021

The public inquiry into the Southport murders has begun, the Home Office has said.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced she had appointed former Court of Appeal vice-president Sir Adrian Fulford to chair the inquiry, and that he had started his work "immediately".

The two-phase review will look at policing, the criminal justice system, and the agencies that were involved with Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event on 29 July 2024.

The second phase of the public inquiry will focus on the wider issues of young people being drawn into extreme violence, Cooper said.

Rudakubana was 18 when he was jailed in January for a minimum of 52 years.

Cooper said "the brutal murder of three young girls" was an "unimaginable tragedy".

She added that "we owe it to their families - and all those affected on that terrible day - to quickly understand what went wrong, answer difficult questions and do everything in our power to prevent something like this from happening again".

Sir Adrian presided over the 2021 trial of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, and sentenced him to a whole-life tariff for the murder of Sarah Everard.

Ms Everard, 33, was walking home from a friend's house in Clapham, south London, in March 2021 when she was kidnapped, raped and murdered by Couzens.

"Sir Adrian Fulford will bring a wealth of legal and criminal justice expertise to this role, and I am pleased he has agreed to chair the inquiry," Cooper added.

Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice Aguiar and Bebe King were among 26 children at the Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport

Cooper said the inquiry would "provide insights into any failings that allowed a young man with a previous history of violence to commit this horrendous attack".

Rudakubana killed Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Alice Aguiar, nine, and six-year-old Bebe King.

He also attacked eight other children, class instructor Leanne Lucas, and businessman John Hayes, who had tried to disarm him.

After Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire, was sentenced, details emerged about his background.

While he had been referred to the Prevent anti-extremism programme three times between 2019 and 2021 due to his interest in terrorist attacks and school shootings, he was judged not to be at risk of being radicalised.

Michael Stewart, who headed the programme, resigned last month following a