Sir Keir Starmer to address nation as public inquiry ordered into Southport attack after admitting ‘state failed’ girls
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SIR Keir Starmer will address the nation after ordering a public inquiry into the Southport attack. The Prime Minister admitted the state "failed to protect" the three young girls killed by Axel Rudakubana last summer. The PM will deliver a statement from Downing Street at 8.30am on Tuesday.
![[Prime Minister Keir Starmer giving a press conference at 10 Downing Street.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-london-england-prime-minister-925583942.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Six-year-old Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died at the scene at the Hart Space on Hart Street during the horror attack on July 29. A third girl, nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, died in hospital the day after the incident. Rudakubana pleaded guilty to 16 charges as...
![[Headshot of Axel Rudakubana.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Axel-Rudakubana.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
As his trial was due to begin on Monday (January 20), Radakubana pleaded guilty to all charges: three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and two terror-related charges. A sentencing date has been set for January 23, and Justice Goose said that a life order was inevitable.
![[Handout photo of Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, a victim of a knife attack.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/handout-file-photo-elsie-dot-944890975.jpg?strip=all&w=768)
It comes after it emerged the 18-year-old convicted murderer was referred to anti-terror scheme Prevent THREE times before launching the attack last summer. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has accused Sir Keir and the police of a "gigantic cover up" over the Southport murders.
![[A young girl wearing a Wicked-themed t-shirt.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/handout-photo-bebe-king-6-944890877.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
In a statement on Monday, Sir Keir admitted the “state failed” in its “ultimate duty” to keep children safe. Speaking out for the first time since Rudakubana plead guilty in court, the PM said: "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.
![[Girl in white dress standing next to illuminated cross.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/handout-file-photo-alice-da-944890859.jpg?strip=all&w=723)
