Public Inquiry Launched Into Southport Attack That Killed Three Girls

The knife used to kill three girls in a Southport dance studio had been ordered online 16 days before the attack. Its buyer, Axel Rudakubana, had already been referred to the government's Prevent counter-terrorism programme three times and arrested for carrying a blade. What the state knew, and what it failed to act on, is the central question of a public inquiry whose Phase 1 report will be published tomorrow at Liverpool Town Hall.

The attack took place on 29 July 2024 at The Hart Space in the Meols Cop area of Southport, Merseyside. Twenty-six children, mostly girls aged between 6 and 11, were attending a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop when Rudakubana, then 17, entered armed with a large kitchen knife. Bebe King, aged 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged 7, died at the scene. Alice da Silva Aguiar, aged 9, died shortly after. Ten other children were injured; sixteen more survived physically but continue to carry serious emotional trauma.

Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire, had been known to police, courts, social workers, and mental health services throughout his teenage years. He was referred to Prevent three times between the ages of 13 and 14, had previously been arrested carrying a knife, and had purchased machetes alongside the kitchen knife used in the attack. On 23 January 2025, he pleaded guilty to all 16 charges, including three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder. Judge Julian Goose sentenced him to life imprisonment at Liverpool Crown Court with a minimum of 52 years, describing the attack as "evil" and "the most extreme, shocking and exceptionally serious crime." Because Rudakubana was 17 at the time of the offence, his sentence was formally classified as detained at His Majesty's pleasure.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the inquiry on 21 January 2025. It was formally established under the Inquiries Act 2005 on 7 April 2025. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the state had "failed in its duty" to protect the girls. The inquiry is chaired by Sir Adrian Fulford, with Harriet Wakeman serving as Counsel to the Inquiry.

Phase 1 hearings ran for nine weeks between 8 September and 6 November 2025 at Liverpool Town Hall. More than 100 witnesses gave evidence, 67 in person. The inquiry also received 25 impact statements and heard evidence from Rudakubana's family. Its remit was to establish a definitive account of the lead-up to the attack and to scrutinise the decision-making of every agency that had contact with Rudakubana before he struck.

The Phase 1 report, due at midday on 13 April 2026, will include findings of fact and recommendations for local and national authorities. Phase 2 will broaden the scope to examine violence-fixated young people and whether multi-agency systems are adequate for managing the risks they pose. In September 2024, just two months after the murders, 19-year-old Nicholas Prosper was arrested for an alleged plan to commit mass killing. The head of Prevent has since left his role following a review into failings connected to the attack.

The day after the murders, rioters clashed with police in Southport and attacked a local mosque after misinformation about Rudakubana's identity spread rapidly online. Protests and riots then spread across England and Northern Ireland.

For the families of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, the report due tomorrow cannot assign criminal guilt; that was settled in court in January 2025. What it can do is answer why a teenager on every relevant agency's radar was still able to walk into a children's dance class with a knife he ordered online.