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Yvette Cooper has pleaded for respect ahead of the trial of the 18-year-old accused of killing three girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed Southport dance class.
The home secretary warned it will be a “deeply traumatic and distressing time” for the families of the victims and the people of Southport, and said “the most important thing for all of us is to ensure that the legal process can take its course”.
Axel Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, will stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court charged with the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
He is also accused of the attempted murder of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes. He is also charged with of possession of a knife on the day of the attack, production of a biological toxin, ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
Ms Cooper said: “This will be a deeply traumatic and distressing time for the families of Alice, Bebe and Elsie, the survivors, and the people of Southport and the whole country will be thinking of them.
“The most important thing for all of us is to ensure that the legal process can take its course, to respect the difficult job the court has to do so there is a fair trial and justice can be done.
“There will be a time at the end of this trial to discuss what happened and the action needed in response to this horrific tragedy. But for now, and until the proceedings have concluded, the priority for all of us must be to ensure justice is done.”
Her intervention is a warning to social media users, who have repeatedly spread misinformation about Rudakubana online as well as suggesting the government engaged in a cover-up over the killings.
The stabbings triggered a week of rioting across parts of England and Northern Ireland after social media posts falsely identified the suspect as an asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in Britain by boat.
Violent groups made up mostly of men who were mobilised by far-right activists on social media attacked mosques and hotels housing migrants, tossed beer bottles, rocks and other weapons at police, and set fire to cars as they clashed with officers in dozens of cities.
More than 1,200 people were arrested over the disorder and hundreds have been jailed.
Rudakubana has not spoken during earlier court hearings and not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf when he failed to respond after the charges were put to him. The trial is expected to last up to four weeks.
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