Yvette Cooper announces public inquiry into Southport attack
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Keir Starmer said state had ‘failed in its duty’ after Axel Rudakubana admitted murdering three girls. Yvette Cooper has announced a public inquiry into the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club in Southport after confirming the “extremely violent” killer was known to the authorities.
The home secretary said the inquiry would provide answers to the families of Axel Rudakubana, 18, who pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering the three girls. Keir Starmer said earlier Britain had “failed in its duty” and that the government would “leave no stone unturned” after Axel Rudakubana, 18, pleaded guilty.
The announcement of a public inquiry came as the Guardian revealed that Rudakubana had been referred three times to the government’s anti-radicalisation scheme and was known to authorities as violent. One of the referrals to Prevent followed concerns about his potential interest in the killing of children in a school massacre, it is understood. He was known to professionals as having an “obsession” with genocide and other mass killings.
Cooper confirmed Rudakubana “was in contact with a range of different state agencies throughout his teenage years”. He was referred three times to the Prevent programme between December 2019 and April 2021, aged 13 and 14, she said, adding that he also had contact with the police, the courts, the youth justice system, social services and mental health services.
