Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

The Southport Inquiry has adjourned until September, ending its second day after a morning of particularly harrowing details about last year's attack.

We heard from the families of four children who survived the mass stabbing, and who now deal with varying levels of physical and psychological trauma.

The painful, long-lasting effects the attack had on them is blatant. But so is their strength, conveyed emotionally by their parents' words.

"It is these untold stories of remarkable strength and bravery that are missing," the mother of one child told the room.

The inquiry has been established to examine the events of the attacks, and the history of attacker Axel Rudakubana and how he was dealt with by public bodies in the lead up to the events of 29 July 2024.

In September, we will hear again from the parents of children left impacted by the incident that the inquiry chair labelled "one of the most egregious crimes in our country's history", as well as a tribute to the three girls who lost their lives.

We'll be concluding our coverage of the proceedings shortly but you can read more about today's testimonies in our story.

• Today has included some very difficult content. If you feel affected by any of the issues raised in our coverage, support and advice is available via the BBC Action Line.

Jonny Humphries and Judith Moritz
BBC News

The brother of Southport killer Axel Rudakubana is blocked from accessing sensitive evidence about the victims of the attack after their families expressed "grave concerns" to the Southport Inquiry.

Dion Rudakubana has been listed as a core participant in the inquiry, who are usually legally represented and are able to ask questions of witnesses.

Core participants - those deemed to have a "significant interest" in proceedings - are usually entitled to be given all the evidence.

Chairman of the inquiry Adrian Fulford said he was "unreservedly persuaded" that allowing the killer's brother full access would act as a "major obstacle" for the families of the victims.

• You can read more here

This morning we heard from four families whose children were injured in the Southport attack last summer. It marked day two of an inquiry into what happened leading up to the attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Hart Street.

The families' identities will be protected throughout the inquiry and reporting restrictions mean we cannot share the children's identities or those of their family members.

The families read out their witness statements from Liverpool Town Hall:

• The father of child C3, who was stabbed in the back three times, says he's adamant the trauma won't define his daughter. He shares that as a family, they experience some good days, and some that are less so, but they remain strong
• "Despite what she has been through, our daughter remains the positive, caring, funny, enthusiastic, courageous girl she always was," he tells the inquiry
• In a statement, the mother of child Q says it's been "extremely difficult as a family to know how best to support our daughter"
• She tells the inquiry that although her daughter was "physically unharmed, she has struggled with the psychological impact of the trauma and to this day has been unable to talk to us about what happened and what she witnessed"
• The mother of child C8 recalls the day of the attack, saying she rushed to the scene after receiving a phone call and found out that her daughter had sustained serious physical injuries, "including a stab wound to her arm and a cut to her face and chin"
• Speaking on behalf of child C1, her mother tells the inquiry she finds it "unbearable" sometimes to listen to her daughter's innocent thoughts around the perpetrator and attacks
• She hasn't found the words for these conversations, she explains, but she is "terrified" that when her daughter learns of the findings of the inquiry, it will be "earth-shattering for her and we will have to begin her recovery again"

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Nicholas Moss KC tells the hearing room that, although the hearings are now paused for a summer break, it does not mean that work behind the scenes will stop during July and August.

Lawyers for all of the various organisations and individuals (“Core Participants”) are all involved in the process of disclosing information to the inquiry and this work continues.

Inquiry chair Sir Adrian Fulford formally adjourns the hearings until 8 September.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Counsel to the inquiry, Nicholas Moss KC, praises "the immense courage and dignity” it’s taken all of the parents who have prepared statements so far.

He explains that the “impact and commemorative” evidence will continue when the inquiry resumes on 8 September.

More parents will address the inquiry then - laying bare the incalculable impact that the attack has had on all of their lives. There will also be commemorative statements about the three little girls who were murdered.

These inquiry proceedings also act as the inquest process for those children.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The mother of child C1 was in tears throughout her delivery of the statement but she kept going.

She has now finished reading her witness statement.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

The mother of child C1 says she finds it "unbearable" sometimes to listen to her daughter's innocent thoughts around the perpetrator and attacks.

She hasn't found the words for these conversations, she explains, but she is "terrified" that when her daughter learns of the findings of the inquiry that it will be "earth-shattering for her and we will have to begin her recovery again".

"We are trying to shield her as much as possible whilst we understand this ourselves. She has every right to ask these questions. This inquiry must answer them. She deserves the truth, she deserves accountability. She deserves an apology...Our girls deserve an apology."

She says the apology needs to come with the promise changes will be made and this won't happen again.

Child C1's parents say they are proud of her steady progress as they "continue to try and rebuild" their lives.

"We are under no illusion though, that she and our family are forever changed by last year and will be managing the consequences of it for our lifetime.

"To all of the girls: make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it — because you have every right to. We are all right here with you as you learn how to survive this. We will draw stars around your scars. And to my darling daughter: you are pure magic, we are so proud of you, and we love you so much."

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The mother of child C1 continues:

"Despite what she carries, she manages to show incredible empathy and so much maturity in her thoughts of what happened that day.

"She asks about the other girls and how everyone is coping. She tells me it's not my fault that she was there, and that she knows I'd just tried to plan something nice.

"It completely shatters me to hear that.

"She tries to understand how someone could do this, to children? It has been a living nightmare to support her through her thoughts and feelings of the person that did this.

"Some days she is able to hold so much empathy and space for what he perhaps was feeling or went through. What his life may have been like to do this.

"'Did he have friends? Were people not kind to him?,' she asks me, confused, 'Could he not talk to his parents if he had big feelings. Why did no one help him?' 'How did he get the knife? Did his parents know? Why didn't he get stopped? Did the police know?'"

"I am left to parent her through questions with impossibly difficult answers.”

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

The mother of Child C1 continues, and tells the inquiry that every day her daughter needs "an enormous amount of support" to do normal things.

"In the shops we have to avoid the news section for fear of his face, or other images being on the front pages again. There is no respite.

"The other day I even had to look online about references to knives or sharp objects in a children's film she wanted to watch at the cinema."

She explains they have removed pointed knives from their home, but they still don't use the blunt tip ones, they have to replace them.

"Life is full of constant triggers that we try to protect her and ourselves, from. She recalls the noise the knife made and the force that felt like punching. Her body shudders sporadically through the day and she looks at me. I know that she's having a flashback and feeling it all over again. She does this often when she looks at her scars.

"Her scars are painful reminders of how brutally her body was violated. I sometimes tell her that, to me, her scars represent strength and how hard she fought to get back to us. I tell her that one day, she might look at them and feel the same. Proud of her actions that day. She disagrees. And I deep down so do I."

The mother says she gets mad at encouraging her to accept the scars that she didn't ask for.

"Her body was stolen from her. She is often sad and angry. Angry that someone was able to take such a special day from her. To harm her friends. To take their love of dance and joy of their summer away from them. To so brutally transform her body in moments and leave her with massive scarring that she will have to look at every day for the rest of her life."

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The mother of child C1 continues.

“To go through something like this, with so many affected families and to receive the media and public attention that it has brought is often re-traumatising.

"We must manage our days around news coverage, interviews, community events and what C1 may be exposed to," she says.

"It has been an unwelcome and devastating battle to protect her during such a crucial first year of her recovery. We wanted to give her ownership of what happened to her. To give her time to come to terms with the complexities of her experience and the layers of trauma we must unpick.

"We wanted to give her some power back after so much was taken from her. Allow her to tell her story if and when she was ready. We continue to protect her from this.

"But online, images of her injured body were shared. TikToks of her injuries were made and shared without any consideration for the child that one day may see it.

"C1’s father and I have struggled to know how to cope with the intrusion.

"To remain quiet and focused on our family, or to step into this and ensure that when she does look online as she gets older, that amongst all of the other adults speaking on her behalf, all of the noise shared by strangers who wanted followers for false stories - that she sees our voices, her mum and dad, telling the world of her bravery.

"It is an impossible dice to roll, of which choice is for the best and so telling you today feels like an appropriate way to honour her story; but continue to protect her."

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

"She may be a survivor of this attack, but she is still trying to survive this, every single day," the mother of C1 continues.

She adds she and the child's father tell their daughter she was brave and they are proud of her actions that day.

"She feels that in those moments it was her responsibility to help other girls and get them out of the building. She looks back at what she could or should have done differently and how this might have changed the outcome.

"'I could have thrown the beads, so he slipped. We could have jumped out the window.' She struggles to understand how she survived."

The mother explains her daughter is grieving, and she has panic attacks and flashbacks.

She also suffers from "extreme separation anxiety, meaning she can't attend school full time".

"She is trying to make sense of something that makes no sense. She needs us to guarantee her safety in a world where we can't. It is like sucking out poison.

"I don't know where to put all the poison at the moment. I just carry it with me. It feels sacred and important to protect."

The mother feels a duty to remember everything her daughter tells her in case she wants to hear about it in the future.

"My heart is with all the parents who have had to carry their children and families through this nightmare, whilst trying to carry themselves. I always feel stronger and less alone, when I think [of] you all.

"I am painfully aware of how close we came to losing her that day and in the days after. How lucky we are to have her with us is not lost on me."

She says she is constantly overwhelmed with the relief her daughter is still here.

"A feeling often replaced quickly with guilt, fear, grief and devastation at the magnitude of what we are left to carry her through; and the ongoing limitations to her life now."

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Warning: This post contains distressing and upsetting details

The mother of child C1 says that as the attack continued her daughter fell forward and down the stairs.

"She pulled herself up on the middle landing and tells me how she yelled for the other girl to follow her. But he started coming after her and she had to run.

"She tells me how she couldn't breathe, and things were getting fuzzy — she had, we believe about five or six stab wounds by this point. Mainly in her arms and shoulders from defending herself upstairs.

"Somehow, she emerges from the building — and we see her, for a brief moment on CCTV. Escaping. Finding help. Showing so much strength.

"But her arm is badly injured and it's trailing behind, and he grabs it. In a flash of struggle, she's gone again.

"For 11 seconds she is out of sight. And then there she is again. She has stood up after enduring another attack of more than 20 stab wounds to her back and shoulders.

"She stumbles outside to the windows reaching for help. She eventually falls and soon after is carried to safety.”

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Warning: This post contains distressing and upsetting details

The mother of child C1's statement continues.

"Recalling those moments in the studio; C1 tells me that she had tried to find a way out. There was only one way to safety, to find her dad and that was down the stairs. She tells us how the door was narrow, and everyone was trying to push through to follow Leanne (Lucas) out of the building.

"She describes it as a stampede. In the chaos she was knocked over and found herself trapped and huddled with two other children at the top of the stairs.

"She talks quietly of how she put her arms around the girls as he began to attack them.

"She tells me with such clarity that a moment came where one of the girls was able to get up, she put the girl's hand on the handrail and told her to go — to get down the stairs - and she did.

"The attack continued, she was still holding another girl, 'I crouched over the top of her',", she says.

"I told her it would be okay. She recalls this with such purpose and determination, like it was her responsibility.

"It happened so fast, but I helped them, I'm glad I could help them, mum," she tells me."

• For context: Leanne Lucas is a yoga teacher who was helping run the Taylor Swift-themed dance class on the day of the attack,

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

The mother says the damage to her daughter from a 17cm knife was "catastrophic".

She says: "The hours and days that followed the attack were a living hell. All of the families affected were brought together by the same event — but since the attack, our lived experiences and the experiences our girls had that day have all been very different.

"To try and come to terms with what happened to her and her own experience, I have to tell myself often that more than one truth can exist here; and everyone involved has their own truth of what happened to them that day.

She says the most painful of truths to them is that there were no adults to help her during both attacks: "She was only supported by other children."

She is in "complete awe" of her daughter's courage and strength.

"I would like to say that I don't for a moment doubt that the actions of the teachers there that day saved lives. They escaped to call the police and flag down help, they shielded other children. I am grateful for what they did for those girls.

"But the uncomfortable and often unspoken truth of our own reality is that, when the adults left in those first moments, our daughter had to save herself.

"It is these untold stories of remarkable strength and bravery that are missing," and these stories need to be heard, she says.

She says before her daughter was picked up outside, she "had fought like hell to get herself out that building twice".

"And that reality is painful - our children fought alone, they shielded each other, comforted each other, and helped each other and that must be remembered."

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

The mother of child C1 describes her daughter as "a beautiful, articulate, fun loving little girl".

"We call her 'our little hippie' because she was always completely carefree," the mother tells the inquiry.

"She has boundless creative energy and is often barefoot. She is rarely the right way up, she cartwheels in the garden, the park, down the street and even the Tesco shopping aisle.

"She is deeply intuitive of others. She trusts herself and has always had a strong sense of who she is."

The mother recalls that before last summer "we would say 'feel the fear and do it anyway'.

"Turn the fear of doing something new into excitement and go for it, you won't regret it, we would say.

"We no longer say that."

The mother says that her daughter's fears are "painfully real" now. The words the parents use has adapted.

"Instead, we say 'we can do hard things' and 'teamwork makes the dream work'."

She recalls that her daughter loved adventure and would try everything. "She went into the world ready to explore and without hesitation, because she believed, rightfully, that she would be safe," she adds.

"She does not live that way anymore. I am here today to share some of her story and journey.

"I want to tell you of her bravery and strength and how hard she is fighting, still now to survive. I am sharing these deeply personal moments, because you are responsible for what happens next. This inquiry must bring meaningful, substantial change to ensure no child will ever share her experience again. To ensure the safety of our children.

"I want you to be in no doubt of the consequences of this horrific attack and what life now looks like for our daughter. I expect the weight of responsibility you hold to be felt in every question you ask and every recommendation you make.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Warning: This post contains distressing and upsetting details

The mother of C1 says the details of what happened to C1 were shared at sentencing, and the court and public listened to the "horrific details of her injuries and were shown CCTV footage of her being dragged back into the building, after trying to escape".

"That is how she became known in this nightmare. The girl that was dragged back in," the mother says. "But she is so much more than that moment on CCTV."

The mum says in those moments her daughter carried courage and determination to survive the thirty-three stab wounds she had.

"After four days sedated and ventilated, she had to learn to sit, stand and walk again. She had intensive therapy and physio so that she could use her hands and fingers again. She is still physically recovering.”

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The inquiry will now hear from the parents of child C1. They are sitting at the witness stand.

The little girl’s mum is speaking.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Reaching the end of the statement, the mother writes: “C8 and all the people there that day have witnessed horrors that no one should ever see and I don't think I will understand the impact on her until she is grown up.

"I am grateful beyond words that she survived. But what she went through, what she saw and what she continues to carry has changed everything.”

The statement ends there.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

The witness statement from the mother of child C8 continues:

"Sleep remains a huge issue. My daughter struggles to fall asleep and it is often very late when she does. When she does, she continues to suffer from frequent nightmares and wakes in distress. Doctors visits are now traumatic, she is terrified of needles, the feeling of something sharp being close to her cannot be managed.

"She is hyper aware of people she doesn't know, and has expressed fear of men, particularly those who are black, influenced by the traumatic associations she made during the incident. This has led to difficult but necessary conversations about race. School has been a real challenge.

"I am so proud of my daughter for returning but she has struggled and has fallen significantly behind in her learning. She was already working hard to keep up before the incident, but now her anxiety and difficulty concentrating have made things worse.

"She often has to leave the classroom when overwhelmed or upset. She tells me her mind wanders during lessons, she has felt scared that something is going to happen and unable to focus. Adjustments have been made at school, such as where she sits in the classroom but the trauma continues to interfere with her ability to learn.

"As her main caregiver I have not been able to consistently return to work. My daughter's needs changed overnight. Where she was once an independent and joyful child she now needs constant support, reassurance and protection.

"I have suffered from PTSD, flashbacks and anxiety. As well as insomnia, sleep paralysis and constant emotional exhaustion. For a long time every phone call sent me in to a panic.

"Therapy has helped me to cope better but I still have a long road ahead. I have tried to shield her from the media coverage but it has not always been possible.

"I feel helpless that I cannot do more to protect her from this, or from reminders that sometimes come from nowhere and can be triggering."

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

“Since that day, C8's life has completed changed," the statement continues.

"She cannot be left alone and only feels safe with a very small number of people, immediate family or very close friends.

"Where she was once eager to go off with her friends she now needs my support if it is somewhere public or unknown. Simple days out now need a level of safety planning that we would never have considered before.

"Immediately after the incident, C8 could not even go in to the toilet at home alone. She had heard someone say he had gone into the toilets and whilst we know that to not be true her fear was real," the mother's lawyer reads.

The lawyer reads that the child always needs to know where exits are and she scans places for danger constantly.

She once saw a newspaper with a picture of the perpetrator on it and since then "groups of school children, especially older boys in uniform are a major trigger".

"We have been unable to get on public transport to and from school since September for this reason," the statement adds.