Southport killer’s parents ‘bear considerable blame’ for ‘preventable’ attack, damning report finds

The Southport killer’s parents bear considerable blame for the deadly mass stabbing attack, which could and should have been prevented, a damning inquiry has found.

A bombshell report from the Southport Inquiry found a string of missed chances to halt violence-obsessed teenager Axel Rudakubana before he unleashed his attack of “unparalleled cruelty” on a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop on 29 July 2024. The horrific stabbing claimed the lives of three children and left eight more girls and two adults wounded, sparking riots across the country.

Chairman Sir Adrian Fulford concluded that “this terrible event could have been – and should have been – prevented”. He said that “it is almost certain” that the tragedy would have been stopped if the killer’s family had shared the full extent of their concerns with authorities in late July 2024.

He also placed blame at the door of the multiple agencies that allowed Rudakubana to fall through the cracks, stating that the killer’s “trajectory towards grave violence was signposted repeatedly and unambiguously”.

The prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood, home secretary, agreed the report exposed “systemic failures” and vowed to make changes to protect the public.

In the damning 763 page report, Sir Adrian found:

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were murdered when Rudakubana, then 17, entered The Hart Space, armed with a knife in summer 2024. He also attempted to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas, and businessman John Hayes. The 19-year-old, who was simply referred to as “the perpetrator” or “AR” in hearings out of respect to victims and their families, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 52 years.

The inquiry, held over nine weeks at Liverpool Town Hall last year, heard from more than 100 witnesses, 67 who gave live evidence, about Rudakubana’s involvement with health services, social care and education, and the three referrals to anti-terror programme Prevent that were made, and closed, before he carried out the attack. Home secretary Yvette Cooper announced the inquiry in January 2025 after Rudakubana’s contact with these various bodies emerged.

In a statement delivered at Liverpool Town Hall as the report was published, Sir Adrian said: “I have no doubt that if appropriate procedures had been in place and if sensible steps had been taken by the agencies and AR’s parents, this dreadful event would not have happened. It could have been and it should have been prevented.”

He continued: “AR’s trajectory towards grave violence was signposted repeatedly and unambiguously. Yet the systems and agencies responsible for safeguarding the public did not act with the cohesion, urgency or clarity required.”

Commenting on the parent’s handling of the teenager, who he described as an “aggressive, near total recluse”, he added: “If the full extent of AR’s family’s concerns had been shared with authorities in late July 2024 – including on the day of the attack – it is almost certain this tragedy would have been prevented.”

Sir Adrian acknowledged Rudakubana had placed his parents in an “extremely difficult position”.

“Their life at home must have become little short of a nightmare, given, to use the words of his own father, AR had turned into a monster,” the chairman said.

However he found the couple, Alphonse Rudakubana and Laetitia Muzayire, had “created significant obstructions” to engagement with him by various agencies and failed to stand up to his behaviour and set boundaries, as well as failing to report a clear escalation in his risk.

He said: “If AR’s parents had done what they morally ought to have done, AR would not have been at liberty to conduct the attack and it would not therefore have occurred.”

But, he said it should have been “obvious” to those in a position to act that Rudakubana was not being “effectively parented”.

Both Rudakubana’s parents, who moved to the UK from Rwanda, gave evidence to the inquiry from remote locations.

His mother told the hearing: “There are many things that Alphonse and I wish we had done differently, anything that might have prevented the horrific event of July 29 2024. (For) our failure, we are profoundly sorry.”

Sir Adrian said Rudakubana had “clearly revealed the extreme danger that he presented to others” more than four years before his attack, when he went his former school, the Range High School in Formby, armed with a kitchen knife and a hockey stick and attacked a student.

The inquiry chairman said the incident in December 2019, for which the teenager received a 10-month referral order, was a “watershed event” and should have led agencies to conclude he posed a “high risk of harm to others”.

The inquiry heard between 2019 and 2024, Rudakubana was referred to anti-terror programme Prevent three times, but the referrals were closed. He purchased a number of weapons, including three machetes, online as well as ingredients he used to make the poison ricin.

Sir Adrian said as time passed, interaction between Rudakubana and organisations became “at best, something of a token”.

The chairman recommended the second phase of the inquiry should consider appointing a single agency to monitor interventions for children presenting a high risk of serious harm. He also said it should consider abilities to restrict or monitor their access to the internet.

The families of the survivors warned “this must not happen again” as they called for urgent steps to address 67 recommendations made in the report.

Nicola Ryan-Donnelly, of law firm Fletchers, represents the families of 22 of the wounded children.

“The physical and emotional scars inflicted on them are a daily reminder of something that we now know could and should have been prevented,” she said.

“They have bravely shared their stories with this inquiry, reliving the horror of that day, in the hope that things can be done, change can happen and that no other family will have to suffer as they have.

“We ask that where recommendations have been made, those individuals and agencies to which they are addressed, take action now. Not tomorrow. This must not happen again.”

Nicola Brook, solicitor at Broudie Jackson Canter, representing the three adult survivors, said her clients were heroes who have suffered a “deluge of unjustified criticism on social media”, which she called to end.

“The report crystallises one of our key concerns throughout – that every organisation tried to shirk responsibility, and that there was a disturbing lack of leadership,” she added. “This is not the first time we have heard this at an inquiry.

“It is evident, time and time again, that there is a culture within government agencies to place their own reputations above their fundamental duty to protect society, and a failure to properly reflect on their conduct once presented with clear evidence that they failed on multiple occasions.”

Prime minister Keir Starmer described the findings as “truly harrowing and profoundly disturbing” as he described the murders as “one of the darkest moments in our country’s history”.

Responding to the report, he added. “It sets out in stark detail the systemic failures over the five years that led to this terrible event, and the repeated missed opportunities that could have prevented it.

“While nothing will ever bring three little girls back, erase the trauma from those injured, or undo the lasting impact on those who witnessed such horror, I am determined to make the fundamental changes needed to keep the public safe.”

Home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, added: “Sir Adrian’s report is heartbreaking. It shows a systematic failure of the state to prevent a vile and sickening individual perpetrating this atrocity.”

Sir Adrian, who described the attack as “one of the most egregious crimes” in UK history when he opened the hearings, said the obligation was to provide answers to victims and their families.

Widespread rioting and civil unrest that erupted across the country following the murders has not been examined.

A second phase of the inquiry will be informed by the findings of phase one and is expected to focus on the risk posed by young people with a fixation, or obsession with, acts of extreme violence.

Mark Wynn, chief executive of Lancashire County Council, issued an apology and promised to implement the report’s recommendations in full.

“We are deeply sorry for the failures identified and for the part we played in the systemic shortcomings that preceded the attack in Southport,” he added.

“We know that no words can ease the grief of the families who lost loved ones, or the pain of those who were injured and traumatised.

“Since 2019, we have made substantial changes to our safeguarding practice, and the chair’s findings will inform our continued improvement. We are committed to implementing all recommendations directed to us in full.”

Chief Constable Rob Carden, of Merseyside Police, said the force welcomes and acknowledges the findings. He paid tribute to families of Elsie, Bebe and Alice, adding: “It is incumbent on all the organisations referred to by the inquiry to act on the recommendations made to ensure everything possible is done to prevent this from happening again.”

More follows on this breaking news story…