Government's Prevent scheme closed Southport killer case 'prematurely'

Axel Rudakubana was referred three times to the Prevent scheme over his interest in terrorist violence, ITV News Political Correspondent Romilly Weeks reports

A review into the handling of the Southport killer under the government's counter-terrorism programme, Prevent, has concluded his case was closed "prematurely".

There were a number of missed opportunities to stop killer Axel Rudakubana, 18, from committing a violent crime before he fatally stabbed three girls and attempted to murder others in Southport last year, the review found.

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, died following his attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July.

Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis set out the findings of the review which concluded that “too much focus was placed on the absence of a distinct ideology”.

As the findings were published, Jarvis told MPs there was an “under-exploration” of the significance of Rudakubana’s repeat referrals, including his history of violence.

Among concerns raised about Rudakubana were that he was found to have taken an interest in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2016 that killed 22 people, and had talked to others about stabbing people, Jarvis told the Commons.

Jarvis said: “The review concluded that too much focus was placed on the absence of a distinct ideology, to the detriment of considering the perpetrator’s susceptibility, grievances and complex needs.

“The overall conclusion of the review is that he should have been case managed through the channel multi-agency process, rather than closed to Prevent. This would have enabled co-ordinated multi-agency risk management and support.”

The government has accepted all 14 recommendations for improvements in the Prevent learning review, the minister added, as he vowed to do “everything in our power” to stop further atrocities.

He told MPs that the government has begun an internal review of the Prevent thresholds, to make sure it can deal with the “full range” of threats from Islamist extremism to fascination with mass violence as seen in the Southport case.

The review will be completed in April, he added.

Rudakubana was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 52 years – one of the highest minimum terms on record – for murdering Alice, Bebe, and Elsie on July 29 last year. The 18-year-old also attempted to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

Three separate referrals were made to Prevent about Rudakubana’s behaviour in the years before the attack, as well as six separate calls to police.

The teenager attacked a pupil with a hockey stick, used school computers to look up the London Bridge terror outrage and carried a knife on a bus and into class before he carried out the Southport murders.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had announced a public inquiry will be held to look at any “missed opportunities” to identify Rudakubana’s murderous intent and she ordered a “thorough review” of the Prevent referrals.

Prevent learning reviews are commissioned jointly by the Home Office and Counter-Terrorism Policing when a terrorist attack or serious violent offence is committed by someone who had previous involvement in the programme.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Matt Jukes said the review describes decisions made at the time within in a system “not equipped” to deal with “emerging risks that were very different to those it had been built to address”.

“In this case, there were at least 15 contact points with public services – health, education and social care systems, and the police” he said.

“We want to see a system where every one of those contacts counts, and where the sum total of all of them taken together is seen as the red flag that it should be.”

Jukes said that cases where young people are drawn into extreme violence online, combined with mental health and social challenges, should have “a clear home” rather than being passed between organisations.

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