Tom Mullen
BBC News

That concludes Dion Rudakubana's questioning, and he is thanked by inquiry chairman Sir Adrian Fulford.

The inquiry will now break for 25 minutes before Alphonse Rudakubana, the killer's father, is called to give evidence.

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle has asked Dion Rudakubana about a line in his statement, referring to him being told more details of the stabbing, including that it involved young victims.

He said he had a "suspicion" by now that his brother was involved, and feared his parents had been killed.

Mr Boye asked if he had any idea why that particular target had been chosen by his brother.

He said he had never heard anything to suggest a dance class would be a target.

However, speaking generally, Mr Rudakubana said he had considered it may have been: "Because children are very valuable and they are the future of society and it would hurt society very badly. But this is only thoughts I have had in retrospect."

Mr Boyle asked if in hindsight he thought he should have done anything differently or reported any of his concerns

"I felt as I felt. I didn't feel suspicion sufficiently to report at any of these points," Mr Rudakubana said.

In his statement, he had said he was "devastated and deeply saddened" by what happened and the "immense pain" it caused.

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

With all this in mind, Mr Boyle asked Mr Rudakubana why he did not consider calling the police.

The older brother said once again that while he had initially been concerned, his parents calmer reaction to the situation lessened his fears.

In his statement at the time, he said he felt that if his brother had taken a knife, "it was for his own protection".

Mr Boyle suggested the killer had threatened to harm people with knives in the past but Mr Rudakubana said that had been years earlier.

He said as he had been away at university he "did not know what he had been like lately".

He said his parents had not only appeared unconcerned but went further.

"The sentiment was that this was a positive step, this was him battling a fear," he said.

In his statement, Mr Rudakubana said he bumped into a friend after he went out who mentioned there had been "stabbings in town", which began to worry him.

"There started to be a 'what if'. Not that I felt there was a very strong chance it was him," he told the inquiry.

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle has been asking Dion Rudakubana about his mother showing him empty packaging from a knife shortly after his brother left the house on the day of the attack,

"I thought there was a concern in relation to the knife packaging that was shared between all of us. I don't recall anything in particular being said," Mr Rudakubana said.

He confirmed the packaging was found in the washing machine.

In his statement, he said: "Neither [parent] appeared alarmed, and I took comfort from this."

He told the inquiry: "My mum went to bed after this, so I quickly calmed down from the concerns."

Mr Rudakubana said he got dressed and went downstairs to get ready to go out and see friends.

He then noticed a box in the living room, with a similar set of knife packaging to the one in the washing machine.

However, he said it did not make him any more concerned than the first package.

Mr Boyle said: "After the attack a black carving knife was found wrapped in a duvet on a sofa in the living room, were you aware of that?"

"No," said Mr Rudakubana.

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Rudakubana said he can recall his mother looking out of the window after his brother left on 29 July 2024.

Mr Boyle turns to a part of his statement in which he said "my dad was more apprehensive" than his mother.

Mr Boyle asked: "Your worry was that was not going out on a walk, but to carry out an attack?"

Mr Rudakubana answered: "Initally, potentially yes. But it was subdued by the contradiction that was shown by [my parents]."

He said he trusted his parents knew better as they had been at home with his brother while he had been away at university.

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle has begun to ask about 29 July 2024, the day of the attack.

In his statement Mr Rudukabana said he woke up about 10:30 that morning and his father helped him to shower.

He said he saw his brother wearing a facemask, walk upstairs into his bedroom and then turn around, walk downstairs and out of the house.

Mr Rudakubana said he did not notice his brother carrying anything, but that his sleeves were pulled down over his hands.

He said: "I turned to my dad and asked him whether he had gone out by himself before, and he said no.

"I got a bit nervous, initially I was quite surprised. My mum got up, and the idea that he was going out on a walk came about. My parents seemed very sure about this. My mum went back to bed because she was resting for a night shift."

Mr Rudakubana said he "made the association" between his brother leaving and the incident on 17 March 2022, when he was found on a bus with a knife.

However, he told the inquiry: "I trusted the fact that my parents had been home consistently at the time, and they had reason to believe [going on a walk] was the case."

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle referred to a message Dion Rudakubana sent to a friend on the Discord messaging app on 27 July 2024.

The message said: "Your brother is dangerous, he can kill you."

He confirmed he was repeating a warning his father had given, although he said his father did not directly use the words "kill you" but rather "indicated there was a threat to life, and I felt that".

Mr Rudakubana repeats he believed at the time the threat was only to himself and his parents, not the wider public.

"The risk to us was always consistent, and was dominant, I mean as a resullt of it being so consistently there. So I didn't jump to conclusions. There were only a very few discrete indications of a risk to the outside world," he said.

He said his brother was unpredictable but by July 2024 there had been no "incidents" of violence to anyone outside the home for three years.

Mr Boyle, referring to the July 2024 incident, said: "You're not clear on exactly what your father had told you, but you certainly knew he was afraid of [your brother] at that stage?"

He replied: "He was afraid of provoking him yes."

Mr Rudakubana said he did not talk to his brother on that visit home "but felt the tension".

In his witness statement, the older brother told police: "He was talking to himself a lot on that weekend and sounded like he was arguing."

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle has been asking about an incident on 22 July 2024, just a week before the attack unfolded.

Dion Rudakubana had returned from university on 26 July, having been driven home by his father.

Mr Rudakubana said at some point he was told about an incident when his brother had tried to get into a taxi and was stopped by his father, but is unsure when.

He said in his statement the killer had told his father "if you stop me again there will be consequences".

He said his dad tried not to "bother me with these things", but would sometimes warn him "to be careful" around his brother.

Mr Boyle asked if he was told about the 22 July incident during the drive home.

"I don't think I was told then, it is possible, but I don't think I was," he said.

He said he believed he had been told about "something bad" happening on that drive, but believed it was vague.

"A lot of things have happened since, it's been quite traumatic. My memory on all this stuff is very shaky."

Tom Mullen
BBC News

Image source, Family handouts

An anti-terror chief has previously told the inquiry officers never found out "the why" of the killer'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.

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."

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Rudakubana tells the inquiry, in reference to his brother ordering packages: "I didn't feel sufficiently that there was an imminent threat for my life as a result of these boxes."

Mr Boyle asked him: "Did you think about the threats to others?"

"No. I didn't associate the risk of harm with anyone outside the home. It's within the home that it was apparent on a daily basis," he said.

Mr Boyle referred to the incident in March 2022 when his brother took a knife on to a bus.

"Shouldn't that have raised your concerns that the risk was wider?," he asked.

The older brother replied: "No it didn't, I'm telling the truth. It didn't at the time, no."

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle has been asking about Dion Rudakubana's brother's online purchases, and how he believed they were paid for.

He said his brother had a geneology business at some point, which earned him "real money".

However, due to his disability Mr Rudukabana would not answer the door and did not take packages in.

He said he can remember at least one occasion when his brother answered the door to collect a parcel, and the packages were "never touched".

Mr Boyle asked: "Was that the instruction from [your brother]?"

"To my parents, yes," he replied.

He said that there were many parcels that came including very normal things such as books, and the younger sibling would generally not want his family to touch his stuff.

"He would get quite angry if we did," he said.

He said he noticed Amazon boxes that in retrospect, he believed may have been knives.

Mr Rudakubana said: "The knowledge that he bought knives was only on the day of the attack."

Mr Boyle said: "Are you sure you didn't see knives on any earlier occasion?"

"Yes", he replied.

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle has been asking about 14 May 2022, which was the final police incident.

Dion Rudakubana said his brother had become violent after being denied access to a computer, describing the moment as "very scary".

In his statement, he said he had "covered his ears" because he was afraid.

"I think I covered my ears every time the police came," he said.

However, he said he had no recollection of talking to the police on any occasion.

Mr Rudakubana said he would have expected "some kind of referral" after these incidents.

He confirmed after 2019, their parents started to consistently conceal knives from his brother.

Tom Mullen
BBC News

Image source, PA Media

If you're just joining us, here's a long read on everything from yesterday's evidence from Dion Rudukabana.

He told how his parents had "lost control" of their son and he feared his younger sibling would kill a member of their family.

Mr Rudukabana also said his brother reminded him of the sociopathic murderer in the film No Country For Old Men.

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle has been asking about one particular "very scary" incident that resulted in the police being called.

On that occasion the killer had been trying to pull the windscreen wipers off a rental car.

In his statement, Dion Rudakubana said the police had been called because "we were scared he might kill my dad".

On 17 March 2022, the younger sibling was brought home by police after being caught with a knife on a bus.

Mr Rudakubana said he recalled hearing his brother speaking to their mother "calmly" after the incident.

He said: "This was when I learned he had told the police he was going to stab someone to get rid of his social media accounts."

The inquiry heard from then on "he had problems every day and the flare-ups were growing".

He denies ever being aware of discussions about poison, or his brother having poison at the home.

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle asked about the younger sibling's autism diagnosis.

Dion Rudakubana said his brother did not want to be diagnosed with autism, and instead believed he had ADHD.

He said his brother was also prescribed medication for anxiety but did not like how it made him feel so stopped taking it.

Mr Rudakubana said that he believed a report by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) psychiatrist Dr Molyneux "failed to capture the nuances" of his brother's behaviour, the level of violence in the home, and understated the concerns his parents had.

He said he is unsure how much of the violence in the house his parents had reported to CAMHS.

Mr Boyle refers to Mr Rudukabana's statement, which said: "I think four years ago he could have been taken out of the house and have had intensive mental health support."

He said that was in response to a general question about what could have gone differently.

Judith Moritz
Special correspondent

Dion Rudakubana’s evidence can often be difficult to hear.

Many of his answers begin audibly, but he then drops his voice and his replies start to ramble and then tail off.

In one moment, barrister Richard Boyle told him: “Sorry, I am struggling to follow you.”

And then a few minutes later: “Just remember to keep your voice up because the stenographer has to get this down."

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle has been asking Dion Rudakubana about his brother's concerning social media posts, including some about former Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi.

He said he had not seen them until after the attack.

Mr Boyle points Mr Rudakubana to a paragraph in his statement, which said he was not involved in conversations or interactions with social services between 2019 and 2023, "with a few exceptions".

He confirmed he was typically up in his bedroom when people visited, or away at university from 2022.

However, he said he recalled his brother meeting social workers from the youth justice service as part of his referral order between 2020 and 2021 - which was his sentence for the hockey stick attack.

Mr Boyle said: "Overall you felt the impact was positive, because when those sessions ceased, things changed negatively, is that right?"

Mr Rudakubana said: "Yeah that's right."

He said after the referral order ended his behaviour deteriorated but also "the degree of isolation" and his mood.

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle has been asking about Rudakubana being referred to the counter extremism service Prevent three times.

Dion Rudakubana said he was aware the Acorns had called their father in to discuss his brother's online activites, but did not know about the referral, and "didn't know Prevent existed".

He also said he had no idea until after the 2024 attack that his brother had been looking at images of extreme violence, including torture and beheadings.

Mr Rudakubana said he knew his brother was interested in history and global injustices.

He said in his statement he had believed his brother held "mainstream views but with an unusual intensity or depth of feeling."

He agreed that this could be summed up as "if he didn't like something, he would hate it."

Mr Boyle asked if Rudakuabana made comments about terrorist attacks and the Holocaust to his older brother.

"Not directly to me, I think at this point our conversations were decreasing, as I was doing my A-Levels basically. I had less time to engage in such conversations," he said.

Mr Rudakubana said his brother never commented to him about any concerning views towards women.

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Boyle has been asking about the killer's time at The Acorns school, a pupil referral unit he was sent to after his expulsion from the Range High School.

Dion Rudakubana had said in his witness statement he believed his brother was being "picked on", which was denied by the school.

He had stopped attending the school during the coronavirus lockdowns, and refused to engage when teachers tried to visit at home.

Mr Rudukabana said his brother would get "very agitated" when asked to come down, and the family feared it could provoke a "violent response."

He said their parents tried to encourage him to attend school "every day."

"Any opportunity to leave the house was proposed to him," he said.

Jonny Humphries
BBC News

Mr Rudakubana is asked about an incident when his brother returned to the Range with a hockey stick in December 2019, after he was expelled.

He said he saw the teenager on the school grounds and mentioned to a teaching assistant: "I don't think he should be here."

He said a short time later he saw his brother running.

He said he was "deeply troubled" when he found out what had happened - that Rudakbana had attacked a fellow pupil with the hockey stick.