Keir Starmer orders public inquiry after state’s ‘failure’ to protect 3 young girls killed by Southport attacker

THERE will be a public inquiry into how the state “failed to protect young girls” from Southport terrorist Axel Rudakubana, Sir Keir Starmer announced today.

The PM vowed to leave “no stone unturned in the pursuit of answers” after it emerged the 18-year-old convicted murderer was referred to anti-terror scheme Prevent THREE times before launching the attack.

Rudakubana was approached by the anti-extremist programme between December 2019 and May 2021 aged 13 and 14.

He also had contact with cops, the courts, the Youth Justice system, social services and mental health services.

In a statement Sir Keir admitted the “state failed” in its “ultimate duty” to keep children safe.

He announced that the Home Office has commissioned an "urgent Prevent Learning Review" to uncover why the young terrorists cases were constantly closed.

Speaking out for the first time since Rudakubana plead guilty in court today, the PM said: "Our thoughts are with the families of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, and the families of everyone affected, who will be saved the ordeal of a protracted trial.

"The news that the vile and sick Southport killer will be convicted is welcome.

"It is also a moment of trauma for the nation, and there are grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls.

"Britain will rightly demand answers, and we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.

"At the centre of this horrific event, there is still a family and community grief that is raw, a pain that not even justice can ever truly heal. Although no words today can ever truly convey the depths of that pain, I want the families to know that our thoughts are with them and everyone in Southport affected by this barbaric crime.

"The whole nation grieves with them."

It came as Nigel Farage accused Sir Keir of staging a “gigantic cover up” around the attackers identity, which triggered an onslaught of riots across England.

Rudakubana, 18, was kicked out of Range High in Formby, Merseyside, in 2019 over claims he brought a blade into class and made threats to attack another pupil.

Police were called in and the Year 9 student - then aged just 13 - was sent home and later expelled.

After bringing a knife into class at the Range, he was sent to a pupil referral unit in Lancashire.

The Reform leader accused the PM and police of deliberately hiding that Rudakabana was referred to Prevent before he bludgeoned three young girls to death at a dance class.

Furious Mr Farage accused the cops of “two-tier policing” and warned Sir Keir was taking a “two-tier governmental approach to who lives in this country”.

The Reform chief claimed that the riots that erupted in the wake of Southport were triggered by authorities refusing to answer questions about what they knew rather than the murders themselves.

In a video posted from Washington DC, where he attended Donald Trump’s inauguration, Mr Farage said: “I asked whether he was known to the authorities.

“No answer came from the police. No answer came from the PM.

“No answer came from the Home Secretary.”

The MP for Clacton, who was banned from asking questions about convicted terrorist Rudakabana, added: “I was completely vilified for daring to ask these questions.

“This is an outrage and I’m angrier today than I have been at any point since those horrendous murders.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch declared that “the public deserves to know the truth” about “who in government knew what and when”.

She said: “This case is still in court and there are, properly, limits on what can be said at this stage.

“But once it concludes on Thursday with sentencing, there are many important questions the authorities will need to answer about the handling of this case and the flow of information.”