RIOTS INFO FAIL
Cops’ information vacuum after Southport murders let lies spread and riots erupt, MPs warn
Axel Rudakubana targeted children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class - stabbing three to death and injuring 10 others
AN INFORMATION vacuum in the wake of the Southport murders led to lies and rumours on social media fuelling riots, MPs have said.
The near-silence from cops allowed false stories to spread that killer Axel Rudakubana was an asylum-seeker.
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Migrant hotels became targets as the information vacuum “allowed disinformation to flourish”, with investigators struggling to set the record straight.
The Home Affairs Select Committee is now calling for a review of what police can put into the public domain.
Chairwoman Dame Karen Bradley said: “The criminal justice system needs its approach to communication to be fit for the social media age.”
MPs said the Crown Prosecution Service and Merseyside Police were restricted on what details they could release about the then unnamed suspect, Axel Rudakubana.
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They were limited by the Contempt of Court Act 1981, which stops the publication of information that could prejudice criminal proceedings.
They welcomed a review into the law by the Law Commission, which published a consultation paper last month to consider “whether there should be contempt of court liability for those who risk prejudicing a criminal trial by releasing information in the interests of public safety or national security”.
Dame Karen added: “It is a grim reality that bad actors sought to exploit the unspeakable tragedy that unfolded in Southport.
“The criminal justice system will need to ensure its approach to communication is fit for the social media age.
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“Lessons must be learned from how the whole criminal justice system worked together.
“It will need to ensure that police forces can improve how they deal with regular policing work as well as supporting them to develop capacity to respond to crises.
Moment Southport killer storms dance class to murder 3 girls as he's jailed for at least 52 years
“The Government’s plans for police reform will be especially important for making sure national policing structures support forces effectively in emergencies.”
Responding to the report, Emily Spurrell, chairwoman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and PCC for Merseyside Police said these changed “must be a priority for all involved in policing reform".
A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is always important that we always learn lessons, and we are working closely with policing to improve national decision making, and to ensure that officers get the support they need to keep our streets safe.
“We also agree social media has put well-established principles around how we communicate after attacks like this under strain, and we must be able to tackle misinformation head on. That is why we have asked the Law Commission to carry out a review into the rules around Contempt of Court as soon as possible.”
Conservative shadow policing minister Matt Vickers said: “Serious questions remain about the Government’s lack of transparency.
“From day one, the Government has ducked accountability whilst ministers have hidden behind legal technicalities instead of levelling with the public.
“Confusion and silence allowed conspiracy to thrive, and trust in the authorities was shattered by a Government that refused to come clean.”
Rudakubana targeted children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class - stabbing Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, to death and injuring 10 others.
The horror unfolded on July 29 as children enjoyed the workshop at a community centre.
Chilling footage showed the killer pacing outside his home before being picked up in a taxi.
Just 30 minutes later, Rudakubana stormed into the class and began senselessly attacking terrified children and adults at random.
Hero dance teacher Leanne Lucas was knifed in the arms, neck and back as she used her body to shield young girls from the knifeman.
Her colleague Heidi Liddle escaped uninjured after bravely locking some of the children inside a toilet.
Another adult, Jonathan Hayes, was stabbed in the leg as he tried to fend off the attacker after running into the class when he heard screams.
The teen dramatically pleaded guilty to all 16 charges against him in a surprise development even the judge was not aware of.
He also pleaded guilty to one charge of the "production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, contrary to Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974".
This related to an Al-Qaeda manual and ricin that were found at his home following the attack.
It was the first time Rudakubana had spoken out loud in court after refusing to open his mouth throughout proceedings.
Speaking through a surgical mask, he replied "guilty" as all 16 counts were put to him one-by-one.
It was also revealed the triple killer had been reported to anti-terror programme Prevent three times before he murdered three girls.
Timeline of horror - how the attack unfolded
- 2002: Rudakubana's father Alphonse moves to the UK from Rwanda, according to an interview he gave to his local newspaper in Southport in 2015.
- August 7 2006: Rudakubana is born in Cardiff, Wales.
- 2013: The family - including Rudakubana's father, mother and older brother - move from Wales to Banks in Lancashire, a few miles from Southport.
- July 29 2024: Shortly before midday, a knifeman enters a dance class at The Hart Space in Hart Street in Southport.
Bebe, Elsie and Alice are fatally wounded. Eight other children are injured, as are instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes. Police say they have detained a male and seized a knife.
Within hours, claims spread online that the suspect is an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023. Some claims include an alleged identity.
- July 30 2024: In the evening, a peaceful vigil is held outside Southport's Atkinson arts venue, where flowers are laid in memory of those who died. Shortly after the vigil, a separate protest begins outside the town's mosque in St Luke's Road.
People throw items towards the mosque, property is damaged and police vehicles are set on fire.
- July 31 2024: Demonstrators gather in Whitehall, London, for an "Enough Is Enough" protest. Flares and cans are thrown at police and more than 100 people are arrested. Disorder also breaks out in Hartlepool, County Durham, and Aldershot, Hampshire.
- August 1 2024: Police announce that Rudakubana has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article. He is not named by police because of his age.
He appears in court in Liverpool and Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC rules he can be named, as he is due to turn 18 in a week.
He initially smiled on entering the courtroom - then kept his face covered by his sweatshirt for the remainder of the proceedings before the case was adjourned.
Later that evening, demonstrators gather outside a hotel in Newton Heath, Manchester.
- August 2 2024: Three police officers are taken to hospital after disorder in Sunderland.
- August 3 2024: There are scenes of violence during planned protests across the UK, including in Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham and Belfast.
- August 4 2024: Disorder continues, including outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where masked demonstrators launch lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers.
- August 5 2024: The Government holds an emergency Cobra meeting in the wake of the disorder and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vows to "ramp up criminal justice". That evening, a peaceful vigil is held in Southport, a week on from the killings. Police deal with disorder in Plymouth, Devon and Darlington, County Durham.
- August 7 2024: Prison sentences for those involved in the unrest begin to be handed out. Derek Drummond, 58, is the first person to be jailed for violent disorder at Liverpool Crown Court, where he is sentenced to three years.
More than 100 protests are planned for across the country, with counter-demonstrations taking place, but the majority of police forces report very little trouble.
- October 29 2024: Merseyside Police announces Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court via videolink the next day charged with production of a biological toxin, Ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
- October 30 2024: Rudakubana appears at Westminster Magistrates' Court via videolink from HMP Belmarsh to face the two new charges. He holds his sweater over the bottom half of his face and does not respond when asked to confirm his name.
- November 13 2024: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court via videolink. He covers his face with his grey sweatshirt and does not speak throughout the hearing. About 20 family members of victims sit in the public gallery. The case is adjourned until December 12, when a preparatory hearing will take place.
- January 20 2025: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court for the first day of his trial where he pleads guilty to all 16 charges, including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
The 18-year-old was first referred to the scheme in 2019 when he was aged just 13.
A further two referrals were made in 2021 while Rudakubana was living in Lancashire, the reported.
One of the referrals made to Prevent was over the teen's potential interest in a school massacre.
He used computers at his own school to search for material but it was decided that he did not fit the criteria for the voluntary scheme.
Two years later, he was referred again after viewing material on previous terror attacks - including those in London in 2017.
Although there were no concerns over a particular ideology or religious hatred, his obsession with violence had caused fears.
But he was not found to have posed a terrorism risk and therefore did not reach the threshold for intervention by Prevent.
After one of the referrals, it was recommended that Rudakubana be referred to other services but is not known if this happened.
As reported by the , Mr Farage accused the Government of behaving “abominably”.
The Reform UK leader had been blocked from asking questions in Parliament about Rudakubana's background and if he was known to the police.
He was told this was due to ongoing court proceedings, which the politician branded "completely wrong".
Mr Farage claimed the riots sparked after the tragedy were a result of withholding of information from the public.
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The violence was provoked after false rumours spread that the attacker was an asylum seeker.
The barrage of misinformation and conspiracy theories on social media, especially X, previously known as Twitter, incited fear and anger among the public, further inflaming tensions.
Parents recall a day of horrors
THE parents of two of the Southport victims have told of first hearing about the attack — with one racing through red lights to get to the scene.
Jenni Stancombe, 35, mother of seven-year-old Elsie, said she got a call from another mum who told her: “Something awful’s happened. Somebody’s stabbed the kids.”
She said: “I just ran to the car. I left the whole house open. It’s a five-minute drive from ours.
“We kept our hands on the horn, going faster and faster, jumping every red light on the road.
“I just didn’t care. I kept whacking the horn.
“We got there, left the car in the middle of the road and ran.”
Elsie’s dad David, 36, added: “You knew when you got there how bad it was. No one should ever have to witness what we saw that day.”
Bebe King’s parents — who cannot be named for legal reasons — were preparing for a family wedding when they dropped the six-year-old off in a “beautiful pink outfit” at the dance workshop.
When Bebe’s dad went to pick her up two hours later, he saw ambulances “all over the place”.
He told The Sunday Times: “I asked, ‘What’s going on?’ and someone said, ‘There’s somebody stabbing kids’.”
The 43-year-old rang his wife and told her: “You need to get here.”
Bebe’s mother, 41, was about to pay in an M&S when he called and told her: “I can’t believe I’m telling you this but somebody has gone into the class with a knife.”
Bebe’s dad remembered a female police officer approaching him.
He said: “We had given people Bebe’s description.
“When she came towards me, I went cold.
“She said, ‘Are you Bebe’s dad?’. As soon as I said yes, she told me Bebe had passed away.”
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