Two-phase public inquiry into Southport murders formally launched

A two-phase statutory public inquiry into the Southport murders has been formally launched.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the first phase would look at the circumstances around Axel Rudakubana's attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last summer.

It will focus on issues around policing, the criminal justice system and the multiple agencies involved with the attacker who killed three girls - seven-year-old Elsie Stancombe, six-year-old Bebe King and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine.

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It follows the revelation Rudakubana had been referred to the government's Prevent scheme on three occasions, with the cases being closed each time.

The second phase of the inquiry, which will be chaired by retired judge Sir Adrian Fulford, is expected to examine the wider issue of children and young people being drawn into extreme violence.

Ms Cooper said: "The brutal murder of three young girls: Bebe, Elsie and Alice in Southport was an unimaginable tragedy - we owe it to their families, and all those affected on that terrible day to quickly understand what went wrong, answer difficult questions and do everything in our power to prevent something like this from happening again.

"The Southport inquiry will provide insights into any failings that allowed a young man with a previous history of violence to commit this horrendous attack."

The home secretary first announced there would be an inquiry into the Southport murders in January, after Rudakubana pleaded guilty to the murders of the three girls.

He also admitted 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a kitchen knife over the mass stabbing, as well as charges of producing ricin and possessing an al Qaeda training manual found in searches of his home in Banks, Lancashire, in the following days.

Eight other children, aged between seven and 13, along with yoga instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes, were injured in the attack, which took place at the Hart Space in the Merseyside town on 29 July.

Rudakubana was jailed for a minimum of 52 years for his crimes, with the sentencing judge saying it was "highly likely" he will never be released.

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In the aftermath of the stabbings, misinformation about the attacker - including false claims that he was a 17-year-old asylum seeker who had come to the country by boat - were spread online, sparking riots across England.

It later emerged Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff, had been referred to the government's anti-extremism Prevent scheme three times before the murders.

A rapid review into his contact with Prevent found his case should have been kept open and that he should have been referred to Channel, another anti-terror scheme.

Instead, the report noted that in his second referral to Prevent, Rudakubana's name was spelt differently from the first and that a supervisor was unable to find the previous referral - and "this may have caused the case to be closed quickly on minimal information".

The review also concluded that too much focus was placed on the absence of Rudakubana following a distinct ideology, while his fascination with violence was under-explored.

The final report for the first phase of the inquiry is expected to be completed by the end of the year or early 2026.

(c) Sky News 2025: Two-phase public inquiry into Southport murders formally launched