Southport stabbings trial latest: Starmer to address nation as Axel Rudakubana, 18, pleads guilty to murder

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died following the attack at the Taylor Swift-themed class in The Hart Space on a small business park in the seaside town shortly before midday on 29 July.

Speaking outside court following the guilty pleas entered by Axel Rudakubana, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Ursula Doyle said: “This was an unspeakable attack – one which left an enduring mark on our community and the nation for its savagery and senselessness.

“At the start of the school holidays, a day which should have been one of carefree innocence; of children enjoying a dance workshop and making friendship bracelets, became a scene of the darkest horror as Axel Rudakubana carried out his meticulously planned rampage.

“It is clear that this was a young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence. He has shown no sign of remorse.

“The prosecution was determined to prove his guilt and I am deeply grateful that today’s plea has spared the families at the heart of this case the pain of having to relive their ordeal through a trial.

“Today, our thoughts are with all those whose lives were altered by what happened on that day.

“Most of all, we think of Elsie, Bebe, and Alice – the three beautiful young girls whose lives were cut short – and wish strength and courage to the families who loved and cherished them.”

Southport “will never be the same” after three girls were murdered at a dance class in the town last summer, the MP has said.

Patrick Hurley, the MP for Southport, told BBC Radio 5 Live there is “surprise and shock” across the town after Axel Rudakubana, who was due to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court today, changed his pleas to guilty after having previously denied murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.

Mr Hurley said: “The community has been healing, the town will obviously never be the same as it has been prior to July.

“There is surprise and shock at the development this morning but we are all hoping throughout the town that the families get the justice and the outcome they need.

“Everybody across the town and the families who are most closely involved and the families of the victims were bracing themselves for the next four weeks.

“It was never going to be an easy time for anybody here.”

Axel Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to all charges against him.

The 18-year-old’s trial at Liverpool Crown Court had been expected to take around four weeks and would have involved a range of evidence including from live witnesses, all heard in front of a jury.

Now that Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to all charges, this process will no longer be necessary.

However, it is standard practice in cases like this for the prosecution to present the facts of the case to the judge as part of the sentencing hearing, and the defence barrister to make submissions in mitigation.

This all takes place in open court so journalists and the public can hear the full details of the case.

In addition, because Rudakubana has pleaded guilty, there is no legal risk of prejudicing a jury trial, so the police and Crown Prosecution Service are free to comment on the case and release background information as they see fit.

The father of a teenager who killed three girls at a Southport dance class stopped his son from taking a taxi to the school he was expelled from just a week before the attack, it is understood.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, was permanently excluded from secondary school over claims he was carrying a knife and later returned to attack someone with a hockey stick, the PA news agency understands.

Neighbours described the family as unremarkable, but it can now be reported that teachers had concerns about his behaviour from when he entered year nine.

Rudakubana was excluded from Range High School in Formby in around 2019 after telling Childline that he was being racially bullied and was bringing a knife into school to protect himself, it is understood.

It is not known if he was being bullied or if he ever brought a weapon into the school while he was a pupil.

After his exclusion, he returned to the school and assaulted someone with a hockey stick, the intended target being a former bully or someone he had a grievance with, it is understood.

It is understood Rudakubana then attended two specialists schools, The Acorns School in Lancashire and Presfield High School & Specialist College in Southport, and teachers were concerned about his behaviour.

His in-person attendance at Presfield was less than 1 per cent, it is understood.

Just a week before he went to the dance class in The Hart Space, he booked a taxi to take him to Range High School, but his father stopped him from leaving, PA understands.

Rudakubana moved to Banks from Cardiff with his parents and older brother about a decade ago.

The family lived in a mid-terrace three-bedroom house in a newly built cul-de-sac of a dozen or so properties.

A local source said the killer did not mix with others, that the family was unremarkable and there had been no sign of anything wrong.

“Nobody knows them. It’s only the father who went to work who I’ve ever seen,” a neighbour said.

In 2018, Rudakubana appeared in a Doctor Who-themed advert for BBC Children In Need.

The now-deleted clip shows him leaving the Tardis wearing a trench coat and tie to look like the show’s former star David Tennant.