Ryan Dobney
Reporting from Southport

In Southport, resident Kim says she hopes Rudakubana admitting his "horrifying" attacks has "spared the family from the trauma and having to relive that horrible event".

"We as a community can focus on supporting them and let the justice system do the best they can with him," she tells me.

"We wouldn't wish anything like this to happen to any community anywhere, however the amazing thing about this little town is it does have a community spirit and we do band together.

"Some people went above and beyond to help and they are all unsung heroes."

She says six months on, the town is still coming to terms with what happened.

"It's a long process but hopefully today will give a little bit of closure,” she says.

"We have to trust the justice system."

Image source, PA Media

Shortly before we got that statement from Keir Starmer, we heard from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch - who says the authorities will have to answer "many important questions" about their handling of the case.

"We will need a complete account of who in government knew what and when. The public deserves the truth," she says.

"This case is still in court and there are, properly, limits on what can be said at this stage.

"But once it concludes on Thursday with sentencing, there are many important questions the authorities will need to answer about the handling of this case and the flow of information."

Badenoch adds her thoughts are "first and foremost with the victims' families".

As a reminder, it can now be revealed - since the guilty pleas this morning - that Rudakubana had a long history of violence.

As well as the murders and attempted murders, he also pleaded guilty to producing ricin, and possessing an Al-Qaeda training manual - charges that weren't made public until three months after the attacks.

Image source, PA Media

We've just had this statement from UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.

"Our thoughts are with the families of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, and the families of everyone affected, who will be saved the ordeal of a protracted trial.

"The news that the vile and sick Southport killer will be convicted is welcome.

"It is also a moment of trauma for the nation, and there are grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls.

"Britain will rightly demand answers, and we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.

"At the centre of this horrific event, there is still a family and community grief that is raw, a pain that not even justice can ever truly heal.

"Although no words today can ever truly convey the depths of that pain, I want the families to know that our thoughts are with them and everyone in Southport affected by this barbaric crime.

"The whole nation grieves with them."

Ryan Dobney
Reporting from Southport

One man - who did want to be named but works near Hart Street, where Axel Rudakubana carried out his attacks - tells me people in Southport "are still struggling".

He says the mood in the town today is low and "everyone is pretty down about it".

"The statement about it, and the photo being released today, everyone's seeing that and getting their backs up about it again," he says.

"Southport was quite on edge during the time it was going on. No one was really making eye contact with each other. It was a really strange setting to be in.

"It was pretty horrible to working round here and still in day-to-day life people seem to be struggling with it."

Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, Axel Rudakubana has a long history of violence.

He had been referred to the government's counter-terrorism Prevent programme several times before the attack, had been expelled from school, had attacked another pupil with a hockey stick, and had been visited by police a number of times.

We can now also report that fellow pupils remember him having an obsession with despotic figures including Genghis Khan and Adolf Hitler. He was also known to have accessed information about the IRA.

You can read more here about what we know about Rudakubana from our correspondent Daniel Sandford.

Our correspondent Judith Moritz describes the "complete surprise" inside the courtroom when Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty this morning:

Ryan Dobney
BBC News reporter in Southport

Norman Wallis, CEO of Southport Pleasureland amusement park, says he hopes the guilty pleas by Axel Rudakubana will mean the town can "heal and move forward”.

Wallis, who set up a £1m fundraiser for the victims of the attack last summer, says the event "devastated the town”.

"People haven't felt like they could come out and enjoy themselves or felt that they should stay away from Southport," he says.

"It’s had an incredible impact - it's been devastating on the people emotionally and all the businesses so let's think, let's hope that we can put that behind us now and move forward."

He says his heart goes out to the families of the victims and adds: "No-one can ever imagine how terrible it is for those families. Imagine not being able to put your arms around your children again.

"It's absolutely awful, terrible, and if I can do anything to help those families and I'm sure anyone else in Southport would say the same ‘we're here to help you’.

"Southport is a great place to visit, great place to live and it's a great place just to come and enjoy yourself. I would ask people to please support Southport and help us get back on top again."

Image source, Meyerside Police

Bebe, Alice and Elsie were stabbed to death by Axel Rudakubana during a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on 29 July last year.

He also admitted the attempted murder of another ten people, including yoga teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, who had arranged the workshop.

Bebe King

Bebe King, six, was described by her parents Lauren and Ben King as a "sweet, kind, and spirited girl" who was "full of joy, light and love".

Alice da Silva Aguiar

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, was described by her family as their "perfect dream child" who loved animals and "moved our world" with her "confidence and empathy".

Speaking at her funeral, they said she was "born and raised into love" and enjoyed cuddling with her parents in their bedroom and watching television with popcorn.

Elsie Dot Stancombe

Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was described by her family as "extraordinary" and an "amazing little girl".

Elsie's family said she "spent every day just simply enjoying life with determination, persistence, love and kindness". They added that Elsie, a "devoted Swiftie", brought "light, love and joy to so many lives".

We earlier heard from the Crown Prosecution Service's Ursula Doyle, who said Rudakubana had a "sickening and sustained interest in death and violence".

She said the attacks in Southport were a "meticulously planned rampage":

Further to our previous report from Judith Moritz, the PA News agency says Axel Rudakubana tried to return to a school that expelled him a week before the Southport killings - but his dad stopped him.

According to PA, teachers had concerns about Axel Rudakubana's behaviour from year nine, when he was aged 13.

He was excluded from Range High School in Formby around 2019. He had told Childline he was being racially bullied, and he took a knife to school to protect himself.

But after he was excluded, he returned to the school and attacked someone with a hockey stick - with the target intended to be a former bully or someone he had a grievance with.

And then a week before the Southport attack, he booked a taxi to take him back to Range High School, but his father stopped him from leaving, PA says.

After he was expelled from Range, Rudakubana attended two specialist schools - one where PA says his attendance was less than 1% and teachers continued to be concerned about his behaviour.

As we've been reporting, Axel Rudakubana, 18, has pleaded guilty to murdering three girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last year. He will be sentenced on Thursday.

BBC reporter Judith Moritz gives an overview of what we know about the killer - including Rudakubana's history of violence, his expulsion from school, and police visits to his home before the attacks.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Axel Rudakubana's decision to plead guilty at the last possible moment could have come a lot earlier in this process.

In the final pre-trial hearing, when not guilty pleas were entered on behalf of the silent Rudakubana, his defence team said no "positive defence" would have been advanced at a trial.

Stan Reisz KC, defending, said no mental health experts would be called to give evidence - putting paid to any suggestion Radukabana would try to claim his responsibility was diminished by way of mental illness.

Those details could not be reported at the time to prevent prejudice to the trial – the defendant could have changed his mind and thought would have needed to have been given to how that position was explained to the jury.

Had the trial progressed the prosecution would simply have had to present enough evidence to prove its case – without significant challenge.

The families, late in the day, have at least been spared that punishing ordeal.

Erica Witherington
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Some answers may have emerged from the trial – or they may not. Now, after Axel Rudakubana's guilty pleas this morning, there will be no trial.

The prosecution never had to come up with a motive to prove Rudakubana guilty of going on a murderous rampage last summer. And now they don’t have to lay out their case at all.

Speaking just now, the CPS have said that is a mercy - the families at the heart of this case have been spared the pain of "having to relive their ordeal through a trial", Ursula Doyle said.

So what of Rudakubana's motives?

The CPS said he was a young man with a "sickening and sustained interest in death and violence" - and one that has shown "no remorse".

Merseyside Police have just released a custody photo of Axel Rudakubana:

Doyle ends her short statement by saying: "Our thoughts are with all those whose lives were altered by what happened on that day".

She goes on: "Most of all we think of the three beautiful young girls whose lives were cut short and we wish strength and courage to their families who loved and cherished them."

Doyle says the prosecution was determined to prove Rudakubana's guilt.

She adds: "I'm deeply grateful that today's pleas have spared the families at the heart of the case the pain of having to relive their the ordeal through a trial."

Doyle goes on to talk about the day of the attack itself. She says it took place at the start of the school holidays, a day "which should have been one of carefree innocence".

Instead, she says, it became a scene "of the darkest horror as Axel Rudakubana carried out his meticulously planned rampage".

"It is clear this was a young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence - he's shown no signs of remorse," she says.

We're now hearing a statement from CPS prosecutor Ursula Doyle outside court. She says Rudakubana pleaded guilty to murdering three and the attempted murder of ten others.

"This was an unspeakable attack, one that has left an enduring mark on our community and the nation for its savagery and senselessness," she says.

Daniel Sandford
Home affairs correspondent

Axel Rudakubana was referred a number of times to the government’s counter-extremism Prevent scheme because of concerns about his obsession with violence.

This was not because of worries about any particular ideology such as Islamism, or racial or religious hatred.

The concern was that he seemed to be actively seeking information about violence.

We're expecting a statement soon from the Crown Prosecution Service, following Axel Rudakubana pleading guilty to murdering three girls at a dance class in Southport on 29 July.

As a reminder, Rudakubana's plea was unexpected - a four-week trial was due to start this week, but instead he will be sentenced on Thursday.

We'll bring you the key lines, so stay with us - and you'll be able to watch live at the top of the page.