Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana to anti-extremism scheme Prevent three times

Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana was referred to the government's anti-extremism Prevent scheme three times before the murders.

Rudakubana, 18, pleaded guilty to the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at Liverpool Crown Court on what was due to be the first day of his trial on Monday.

He also admitted 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a kitchen knife over the mass stabbing as well as charges of producing ricin and possessing an al Qaeda training manual found in searches of his home in Banks, Lancashire, in the following days.

Eight other children, aged between seven and 13, along with yoga instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes were injured in the attack at the Hart Space in the Merseyside town on 29 July.

It has now emerged he was referred to Prevent three times amid concerns over his fixation with violence.

Anyone referred to the scheme is assessed and if deemed a terrorism risk referred to another programme, Channel, although many referrals don't result in any further police action.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said there were "grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls".

Just a week before the attack, Rudakubana, then 17, booked a taxi to take him to Range High School in Formby, but his father stopped him from leaving, it is understood.

The teenager, who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, was expelled from the school in around 2019 over claims he was carrying a knife after telling Childline he was being racially bullied and brought the knife to protect himself.

It is understood that, after his exclusion, he returned to the school to target a former bully or someone he had a grievance with and assaulted someone with a hockey stick.

Rudakubana then attended two specialist schools, where teachers were concerned about his behaviour.

Not guilty pleas had previously been entered on Rudakubana's behalf to all 16 charges after he stayed silent at previous hearings.

He refused to stand or confirm his identity as he changed his pleas to guilty, while none of his victims' family members were in court, as prosecutors were expected to open their case on Tuesday.

Wearing a grey tracksuit and surgical face mask, he showed no emotion as he was taken down to the cells, surrounded by four dock officers and an intermediary.

The judge, Mr Justice Goose said he would sentence the teenager on Thursday, telling him: "You will understand it is inevitable the sentence to be imposed upon you will mean a life sentence."

But he is not expected to be handed a whole life order, a sentence meaning he would never be released, because of his age at the time.

Judges can only impose the term on criminals who were aged 21 and over at the time of the offence, but it can be considered for those aged 18 to 20 in exceptional circumstances.

The Southport attack, which has not been declared terror-related, sparked a wave of violence across the country as riots broke out after posts spread online that claimed the suspect was a 17-year-old asylum seeker, who had come to the country by boat.

After the guilty plea today, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Ursula Doyle said: "This was an unspeakable attack, one that has left an enduring mark on our community and the nation for its savagery and its senselessness.

"At the start of the school holidays, a day which should've 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."

Read more from Sky News:
Police release mugshot of Rudakubana
How the people of Southport are trying to make sense of horror

Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, where neighbours of the family described a "lovely couple" with a hardworking father and stay-at-home mother to "two boisterous boys".

In 2013, they moved to the village of Banks, just a few miles outside of Southport, where his father, Alphonse Rudakubana, trained with local martial arts clubs.

A profile of Mr Rudakubana, printed in local newspaper the Southport Visiter in 2015, said he was originally from Rwanda, a country that suffered a deadly genocide in the early 1990s, and moved to the UK in 2002.

When he was 11 years old, Rudakubana appeared dressed as Doctor Who in a television advert for BBC Children In Need, after being recruited through a casting agency, it is understood.

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 and offering advice on how best to raise money.

At his first appearance at Liverpool Crown Court, Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, said it was understood Rudakubana had been unwilling to leave the house and communicate with his family for a period of time before the attack.

"He was seen by the psychiatrists at the police station but refused to engage with them," she said.

The court was told he had no obvious evidence of mental health disorder which required hospital treatment and his mother, father and older brother were said to have been co-operating with police and had provided witness statements.

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