Southport attack 'Why?' question never answered

The man responsible for the Southport attack is serving a minimum of 52 years for his crimes

An anti-terror chief has told a public inquiry officers never found out "the why" of Axel Rudakubana's deadly attack in Southport, other than his fascination with extreme violence.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Victoria Evans, a senior national co-ordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, told the inquiry it had been her role to determine whether the 29 July 2024 attack had been a terrorist incident.

She told the Liverpool Town Hall hearing the assessment was that the perpetrator was not a terrorist.

Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were murdered in the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Ten others, including eight children, were injured.

The inquiry heard that some of the victims wanted to know how the conclusion that the knifeman was not a terrorist had been reached.

Nicholas Moss KC, counsel to the inquiry, said the police and counter-terrorism investigation did not declare the incident to be terrorism since there was no evidence the perpetrator had tried to further a particular cause.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Evans said: "There was no evidence found to show or suggest the attack was, as you say, motivated to advance a political, racial, religious or ideological cause.

"What I would say is that I completely appreciate for the survivors, the communities, that doesn't in any way lessen the horror of the attack."

Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar were killed in the attack

Mr Moss asked the senior officer to further explain that determination, given that after his arrest police found the killer had a document titled Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual.

It included content about how to use knives and poisons to kill people.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Evans said that while the manual may have "aided the methodology" of the knifeman's attack, it did not show - and neither did any other evidence uncovered by police - that he had been motivated by a terrorist ideology.

She added: "In very simple terms, we never identified the 'why'."

Mr Moss, referring to the killer by his initials, continued: "Should we understand the assessment was, dreadfully and shamefully, that fitted in with AR's fascination with extreme violence, and when seen as a whole there was not an indication he was holding that manual because he had, for example, an Islamist extremist agenda?"

She replied: "That's correct."

The senior officer agreed that the killer also had online content, found by police after his arrest, that would be grossly offensive both to Muslims and other communities.

The inquiry was adjourned until 20 October.