Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The mother of child C8's statement goes on, read by her lawyer. She recalls receiving the phone call detailing what had happened that day.

"I was at work when I received a panicked phone call from her friend's mum.

"She couldn't find C8 or her daughter. That moment, the sound of fear in her voice and the panic I felt will never leave me.

"I rushed to the scene and what I saw is something no parent should ever see.

"C8 had sustained serious physical injuries including a stab wound to her arm and a cut to her face and chin.

"She remembers the attack vividly — how he tried to get her face, how she saw other girls being hurt. She told me later she thought it had to be fake, because she couldn't believe something that terrible could really be happening.”

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

"Before July, my daughter was like any other seven-year-old little girl," the statement from the mother of child C8 begins.

"She had an incredible energy and was full of life. She was kind-hearted, always looking out for others and especially sensitive to anyone being left out.

She was lively around people she knew, and would come out of her shell once comfortable around new people, the lawyer reads. The mother had a "really close bond" with her daughter, spending lots of time together as a family.

"She was independent and happy. C8 was really creative, she loved singing, dancing, art and activities like tennis and gymnastics. She enjoyed school and tried her best," the statement reads.

"The incident in July changed everything.

"C8 went to the event with her best friend. Her friend's mum took them and it was meant to be a fun way to start the summer holidays. She left that morning very excited."

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The mother of child Q says some days continue to be difficult, “trying to process everything happening around us”.

“There were times when I didn’t know which way to turn,” the mother says in a statement read by her lawyer.

She says they’ll always do “everything we can to make sure that what happened doesn’t control our lives or take away our joy”.

“Our daughter is a strong, brave and beautiful little girl who has so much love and support around her to get her through the tough days.

“As her parents all we want is for her to feel safe, loved and to enjoy her childhood and we will do everything we can to make this happen.”

That brings the statement to a close. The next statement is by the mother of child C8. Again, it is being read by her solicitor.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

“Arriving to collect my daughter on the day of the incident I was unaware of the events due to unfold. To witness children running from the building, screaming and fearing for their lives is the most horrific experience of my life," the statement from the mother of Child Q goes on.

"To be unaware of what was happening, trying to process it all whilst also being fearful of what could happen next - it's an unexplainable feeling. What I saw on that day will stick with me forever, I constantly have flashbacks and re-live what happened.

"Since the incident, we have found it extremely difficult as a family to know how to best support our daughter. Although 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 statement continues: "Our daughter became very withdrawn, emotional and had so many worries: - In her words, due to what she witnessed, 'How will I ever be normal again’?

“She is even more anxious about not being with us or being dropped off at another event without us. She is scared when she hears a siren or sees an emergency vehicle. She is still unable to sleep alone and struggles with falling asleep. She always asks for doors to be closed when we enter or leave a room, this helps her to feel safe.

"Changes have also been made at school; she now sits where she can see the door so she can always be aware of who is entering the classroom. On a few occasions she has been unable to attend school due to her anxiety, explaining this as her tummy feels funny and hiding under the dining table at home.”

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

The statement from the mother of Child Q, which is being read by her solicitor, starts with a tribute to the three young girls killed in last year's attack.

"Our hearts go out to all the families affected, especially the families of Elsie, Bebe and Alice,” the statement says.

“Our daughter has always been an anxious little girl who has struggled socially ... attending the event on 29 July last year was a significant step for her,” the mother of Child Q adds.

She says her daughter went into the venue “feeling happy and I left her with a sense of pride, it was a real achievement for her”.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The inquiry is about to resume. Next we will be hearing a statement from the mother of Child Q.

It is being read by her solicitor who is sitting at the witness stand.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Bringing his statement to an end, the father of C3 says his daughter knows that she is loved "by us, her parents ... by her wider family, and by the friends who have supported us since that horrendous day".

"It is through this support and love that she will continue to thrive.

"We couldn't be prouder of her. She is our hero.”

That brings the first witness statement to an end. The court rises until 11:05.

• As a reminder, there is a 10-minute delay on reporting details from the inquiry

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

More now from the father of child C3, who was stabbed in the back three times.

He says: “With regards to the impact on us as a family, it is relatively simple - our collective progression has been linked to her progression. Life is certainly not like it was before. Some days are good, and others less so.

"We remain a strong family unit, but dealing with what happened that day has been unbelievably challenging for every member of our family. The events have affected us all in so many different ways. There is no handbook to navigate what we have had to endure. We continue to lean on each other, and that support continues to get us through our most difficult moments.

“Despite what she has been through, our daughter remains the positive, caring, funny, enthusiastic, courageous girl she always was. She has no self-pity about what happened to her. She wears her scars with a dignity and defiance that is remarkable.

“We have said from the beginning that this trauma will not define our daughter. She has the skills and personality to do whatever she wants as she grows up. We know that she will continue to press ahead with her positive outlook through life.”

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The statement from the father of child C3, read on behalf of himself and his wife (the mother of child C3), goes on.

He says their daughter is now nearly 12 months into her recovery, “and she continues to astound us with the way she has dealt with her experience that day, and her long, slow, steady physical and mental rehabilitation”.

“It has been inspiring for us to witness,” he adds.

The father of C3 says many people have told him and his wife that “kids are resilient”, but, he adds, “resilience is the ability to recover quickly, which doesn't feel appropriate when describing our daughter in these circumstances”.

“She has not fully recovered,” he says.

He says C3 “bears the scars, both physically and emotionally, of that terrible day”.

“We know that she is only a small way down the path that life will take her, and that obstacles will continue to present themselves along the way. We are trying our best to prepare her for the challenges that will come but, in all honesty, we do not know what they will look like," he continues.

“Challenges which have already emerged include our daughter having difficulty going to sleep at night, having flashbacks of the day, having to look over her shoulder scanning for potential danger when outside the house, being uncomfortable when on a different floor to us at home, fear of loud noises, and having to turn off particular songs when they come on the radio, amongst many others."

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Warning: This post contains distressing and upsetting details

The first witness will be the father of child C3. He will read a statement on behalf of himself and his wife - the mother of child C3.

The couple are sitting at the witness box.

“My wife and I have thought long and hard about our contribution to the inquiry. We have kept our counsel close and we will continue to do so. We know that the more we give to the inquiry, the more we give away about our little girl to the public. We remain conflicted. But we know that lessons need to be learned... we trust that this inquiry team will do that."

“Our nine-year-old daughter was stabbed three times in the back by a coward she didn’t even know.

“We have seen the CCTV footage of her, looking scared, confused and pained, as she runs from the building and hides briefly behind a parked car, before finding refuge by jumping to relative safety through an open car door. It was troubling for us to see what she had to go through, before either of her parents had arrived at the scene. We are so thankful and proud that despite being critically injured she was able to make the decisions she did in that terrible moment.

“Once she reached hospital, we spent six hours waiting for news as to whether her emergency surgery had been successful. We remain eternally grateful that we were lucky that day, and that the skill of the paramedics, surgeons and medical staff meant we got our little girl back."

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Counsel to the inquiry Nicholas Moss KC says the only appropriate way to start the evidence at the Inquiry is to hear directly from the families who’ve been affected by the attack.

He explains that four families will give evidence. Their children are known within the Inquiry as C3, Q, C8 and C1.

Moss tells the inquiry about the anonymity restrictions which have been put in place to protect the children.

He explains that for this reason, this section of the hearings is not being broadcast. Journalists are also prevented from reporting their names and any identifying detail.

He extends this beyond traditional media outlets, and says it also applies to bloggers, social media, pressure groups, individuals, and anyone at all who may comment on the proceedings.

No identifying detail at all including addresses, photos, school details are allowed.

Nicholas Moss KC: “Because we are dealing with the welfare of young children and the risk which we are seeking to control is the risk of further trauma to these young children, may I respectfully urge a very cautious approach (to the reporting)?”

He reminds the inquiry that there is a 10-minute delay on reporting detail.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The Chair has entered the room.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

This week the Southport Inquiry is sitting in the main council chamber at Liverpool Town Hall.

It’s a grand amphitheatre setting - rows of mahogany and leather seating and a grand dais where the Chair of the inquiry, Sir Adrian Fulford, is overseeing the hearings.

Yesterday Sir Adrian opened the inquiry with his opening statement, in which he called the Southport attack, “one of the most egregious crimes in our country’s history".

Today we’re expecting to hear powerful testimony from the parents of four little girls who survived the attack. It’s bound to be emotionally charged as they tell the inquiry about the impact that that awful day has made on their lives.

The room is now starting to fill up with the curved rows of seating occupied by lawyers. There is also a high black cloth at one end of the room, which is screening off a separate area for the families so that they cannot be seen by the rest of the room.

One important detail to explain - all of the children who survived the attack have been given anonymity. That means that their parents are also being kept anonymous, so that the wider families cannot be identified.

This does not apply to the three little girls who died, but to the eight children who survived with physical injuries, and also to the 15 children who were not physically hurt, but who escaped, and have suffered significant psychological trauma.

Sir Adrian Fulford, a retired Lord Justice of Appeal and former judge of the International Criminal Court, is chairing the inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall.

During proceedings, we'll be hearing from barristers Nicholas Moss KC and Richard Boyle.

The first live hearings began at Liverpool Town Hall on Tuesday, chaired by retired senior judge Sir Adrian Fulford.

Sir Adrian described the murders as "one of the most egregious crimes in our country's history".

He told a council chamber packed with legal representatives, lawyers, media and members of the public that he was committed to delivering "sensible and achievable" recommendations to protect the most vulnerable from other "horrors".

"There are no words that adequately describe what occurred and I am not going to try, and then fail, to find them," he said.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a public inquiry would be established following Axel Rudakubana's conviction in January.

You can read more from yesterday's hearing here.

Image source, FAMILY HANDOUTS

Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were killed when 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana attacked a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Hart Street, on 29 July 2024.

Ten other people were seriously injured including yoga teacher Leanne Lucas and businessman Jonathan Hayes.

At his sentencing hearing in January this year, the court heard how Rudakubana started systematically stabbing the young girls at around 11:45 BST as they sat making friendship bracelets and sang along to Swift's music.

Police arrived on the scene just before midday, with three officers and a member of the public, window-cleaner Joel Verite, finding Rudakubana standing over the body of Bebe holding a knife. He was then tackled to the floor.

Rudakubana was charged with the murder of the three girls and 10 counts of attempted murder by Merseyside Police. He was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in prison.

You can read more about how the attack unfolded here.

Image source, PA Media

Coming up today at the Southport Inquiry, which is looking into the attacks of Axel Rudakubana in 2024, we will be hearing evidence from four families whose children were injured in the attacks.

Reporting restrictions mean we are unable to share the identity of the children, or their family members. There will also be no video of the statements being read out.

We have reporters in the room in Liverpool Town Hall, however, to tell us what's happening.

Phase one of the inquiry is investigating the circumstances surrounding the attack and the events leading up to it - among which are Rudakubana's history and interactions with various public bodies, including criminal justice, education, social care, and healthcare.

The attack occurred during a children's dance party, when Rudakubana stabbed and killed three young girls, and injured 10 others.

The inquiry will also look at the decision-making and information-sharing by local services and agencies.

We will hear evidence from 10:30 BST onwards.