Inquiry told 'red flags ignored' before Southport stabbings that killed three children

Families of the children killed in the Southport attack told a public inquiry in Liverpool that warnings about the attacker were missed and "red flags ignored," as legal counsel outlined a series of failures across schools, health services, social care and policing.

The hearing on Tuesday heard from the parents of six-year-old Bebe King and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, among others, who said a "chain of failures" allowed Axel Rudakubana to carry out the knife attack on 29 July 2024 that also killed nine-year-old Alice Aguiar. Counsel Nicholas Bowen KC told the inquiry Rudakubana used an £8.39 kitchen knife bought online and walked through "unlocked doors" to fatally stab and maim children, and that responsibility extended beyond public bodies to the killer’s family.

Families and their legal representatives set out a detailed timeline of contacts between the attacker and state agencies, saying no single body had the "full picture" and that none had effectively "joined the dots." Bowen said Rudakubana had been referred to the government anti-radicalisation programme Prevent on three occasions and that, in an incident two years before the killings, he was reported missing by his family and later found on a bus by police carrying a knife.

Statements read to the inquiry from the parents of Elsie Dot Stancombe asked whether the attacker’s parents had been neglectful in permitting him to possess weapons. "When a parent knows their child is dangerous, allows them to possess weapons and authorities have already visited the home, how is that not neglect?" they said. "When does a parent become complicit in a crime committed by their child?"

The inquiry also heard a statement from Rudakubana’s brother, Dion, saying the younger sibling had become "progressively more isolated" after being expelled from school in 2019 and that Dion had limited interaction with him in the years leading up to the attack. The statement said Dion was aware of police and other agency involvement and wished the inquiry to consider whether more could have been done to prevent or minimise risk.

Counsel told the hearing there were multiple missed opportunities to identify escalating risk, including allegations that Rudakubana repeatedly took a knife into school, said he wanted to kill another pupil he claimed had bullied him, and had once attacked a child with a hockey stick. A teacher who asked why he had taken a knife to school was told, according to the hearing, "to use it," and described his response as "so cold."

David Temkin KC, representing 18 families whose children were present during the attack, summarised concerns that the attacker "fell between the cracks" across systems responsible for child welfare, education and safety. Temkin highlighted missed opportunities related to Rudakubana's propensity for serious violence, unmet educational needs and the family environment. He told the inquiry families were "extremely concerned" about evidence suggesting "system failings, complacency, a lack of curiosity and inadequacy."

Temkin cited a January 2020 meeting involving Rudakubana’s school, social services and health workers in which a representative from child and adolescent mental health services reportedly offered a £5 bet for anyone who could predict what would happen next. The hearing was told that, despite repeated contacts with services, Rudakubana "fell below the radar." Bowen told the inquiry that had a full assessment taken place, agencies might have discovered his purchases of knives and the aggression he displayed at the family home in Banks, near Southport.

The inquiry also heard from legal counsel for three adult survivors who suffered serious injuries. Pete Weatherby KC said Leanne Lucas, Heidi Liddle and Jonathan Haynes had been subject to "vile abuse" on social media after the attack despite having performed acts that helped others during the incident. According to Weatherby, Lucas, who suffered life-threatening injuries, insisted children were treated before her and was the first to call 999; Liddle had barricaded herself and a child in toilets and likely saved a life; and Haynes confronted the attacker, distracting him for "vital seconds" though he could not overpower him.

Families and their representatives urged the inquiry to establish a full, accurate record of what happened and to examine rigorously what multi-agency interventions existed or should have been put in place. Counsel for the families said that, but for multiple failures, the killings "could have and should have been stopped." The hearing continues at Liverpool Town Hall.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.