A public inquiry into the Southport murders began Tuesday at Liverpool Town Hall, with chairman Sir Adrian Fulford declaring that “ordinary language simply fails to reflect the enormity” of the attack that killed three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last summer.
The inquiry will examine how public bodies handled the “deteriorating and deeply troubling behaviour” of Axel Rudakubana, who murdered Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and six-year-old Bebe King on July 29, 2024. Eight other children and two adults were seriously wounded in the knife attack at the Hart Space dance studio in the Merseyside town.
Sir Adrian Fulford, a retired senior judge and former vice-president of the Court of Appeal, told a packed council chamber that he was committed to delivering “sensible and achievable” recommendations while conducting the inquiry “at pace and with rigour.” The chamber was filled with legal representatives, lawyers, media, and members of the public for the opening proceedings.
Today, just less than a year since one of the most horrific crimes in our country’s history took place in Southport, we open the independent inquiry into the events surrounding the attack and events leading up to it,” Sir Adrian said in his opening statement.
The inquiry chairman acknowledged the inadequacy of words to describe the tragedy. “None of the most powerful adjectives even begin to suffice,” he stated. “There are no words that adequately describe what occurred and I am not going to try, and then fail, to find them.”
A key focus of the inquiry will be determining whether the attack could or should have been prevented, given the extensive warnings about Rudakubana’s behaviour in the years leading up to the murders. Three separate referrals were made to the government’s counter-terror programme Prevent between 2019 and 2021, along with six separate calls to police about his concerning actions.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who announced the inquiry in January following Rudakubana’s conviction, said families “needed answers about what had happened leading up to the attack.” The inquiry has been established as a statutory investigation, granting it full legal powers to receive evidence and hear witness testimony effectively.
The 18-year-old killer, who was 17 at the time of the attack, was sentenced to life imprisonment in January with a minimum term of 52 years – one of the highest minimum terms on record. He pleaded guilty to all charges, including three counts of murder, ten counts of attempted murder, possession of a knife, production of the biological toxin ricin, and possession of terrorist material.
Evidence presented during Rudakubana’s sentencing revealed a pattern of escalating violent behaviour that had been flagged repeatedly to authorities. A week before the Southport attack, on July 22, 2024, his father had prevented what prosecutors believed was an attempted attack at Range High School, Rudakubana’s former school, after stopping him from taking a taxi there while wearing the same outfit he would later wear during the murders.
“My focus throughout this inquiry will be a thorough and forensic investigation of all the circumstances surrounding the attack and the events leading up to it,” Sir Adrian said. This will include the perpetrator’s history and interactions with all the relevant agencies, how they shared information and responded to the risks that he posed.”
A review of Prevent referrals published in February found there was sufficient risk posed by Rudakubana to keep his cases active within the programme, but these were closed prematurely while “too much focus was placed on a lack of distinct ideology.” The teenager had exhibited concerning behaviour from age 13, including bringing knives to school and researching school shootings.
The inquiry will proceed in two phases. The first phase will thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack and events leading up to it, including Rudakubana’s interactions with various public bodies such as criminal justice, education, social care, and healthcare services. A second phase will examine the broader issue of young people being drawn into extreme violence.
Sir Adrian confirmed that evidence would be heard from four families whose children were injured in the attack on Wednesday. We will hold two days of hearings this week and then resume hearings on September 8 at Liverpool Town Hall when I will hear from more of the victims, survivors and their families,” he said.
The inquiry will draw on evidence from interviews with witnesses and disclosure from 15 organisations, including MI5, Counter-Terrorism Policing, NHS England, and Merseyside Police. Sir Adrian emphasized his commitment to “balancing the needs of those who live with the continued trauma of what happened in Southport in July 2024.”
The attack had sparked nationwide riots fuelled by far-right misinformation about Rudakubana’s identity before it was publicly released. False claims that he was a Muslim asylum seeker spread rapidly online, leading to violent protests including an attack on a Southport mosque. By September 2024, police had made 1,280 arrests related to the disorder, with 800 people charged.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer described Rudakubana’s conviction as “a moment of trauma for the nation,” adding that there were “grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls.” Following the guilty plea, the government announced plans to overhaul terrorism laws and the Prevent programme.
The families of the three murdered girls have demanded “real change” to ensure similar tragedies can be prevented. Sir Adrian, who previously sentenced Met Police officer Wayne Couzens for the murder of Sarah Everard and served as judge coroner for the Reading terror attacks inquest, brings extensive experience in handling sensitive and complex cases.
As the inquiry begins its work, the Southport community continues to grapple with the aftermath of what prosecutors called a “meticulously planned rampage” that has left an enduring mark on the town and the nation. The Hart Space, where 26 children had gathered for a summer holiday dance workshop, remains a site of profound grief and remembrance.
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