Withholding information on Southport attacker not personal decision – Starmer
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The Prime Minister said it was not his “personal decision” to withhold that ricin and a terrorist document were found in the Southport attacker’s home, as he faced questions about what he knew and when. Police found the ricin, a deadly poison, and the document in a search of Axel Rudakubana’s home after he murdered three girls at a Southport holiday club.
Sir Keir Starmer has stressed that what information could be disclosed up to now has been limited to avoid prejudicing the trial. He launched an inquiry after Rudakubana pleaded guilty on Monday. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has called for the inquiry into the attack to cover “what the Government knew and when” and “why it wasn’t disclosed”.
During a press conference, Sir Keir was asked if he knew about the ricin and terrorist document found by police. “Yes, of course I was kept up to date with the facts as they were emerging, that is usual practice. “But just like you, as a journalist, I had to observe the law of the land.
“It was not my personal decision to withhold this information, any more than it was a journalist’s personal decision not to print or write about it. “That is the law of the land and it is in place for the reasons I’ve set out to protect the integrity of the system to ensure that the victims and their families get the justice they deserve.”.
Rudakubana pleaded guilty to possessing a knife on the date of the attack, production of a biological toxin, ricin, on or before July 29 last year, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
