Teenager admits Southport murders that started UK riots and possessing terrorist manual

Child killer Axel Rudakubana pleads guilty on first day of trial

Teenager Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty to killing three young girls in a stabbing last year that sparked the UK's most violent riots in a decade. AFP

A teenager whose fatal knife attack on three girls at a holiday club sparked riots across the UK has admitted their murder and possessing a terrorist manual.

On the first day of his trial, Axel Rudakubana, 18, changed his plea to admit the July 2024 attack, described as a “meticulously planned rampage”. He also admitted the attempted murders of eight other children, as well as the class instructor and a local businessman. He will be sentenced on Thursday. The change of pleas surprised prosecutors and meant the families of the victims were not in court to hear Rudakubana admit the crimes.

Prosecutors described the defendant as a “young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence”, saying the attack left an “enduring mark on our community and the nation for its savagery and senselessness”.

There was unrest across England and Wales in the wake of the attack, with mosques and hotels used for asylum seekers among the targets of mobs.

In the hours after the stabbing, information spread online which claimed the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a small boat.

The day after the attack, thousands of people turned out for a peaceful vigil in Southport, but later a separate protest outside a mosque in the town became violent, with missiles thrown at police and vans set on fire. More than 1,000 arrests linked to disorder have since been made and hundreds charged and jailed.

Terrorism material

Rudakubana was reported three times to Prevent – the government’s scheme to stop terrorist violence – over concerns about his obsession with violence, US school shootings, plus viewing material on Libya and terrorist attacks, including those on London in 2017.

Although his behaviour was considered worrying, he was evaluated as not to be motivated by a terrorist ideology. He was not considered for the government's counter-radicalisation scheme and was seemingly not a person of interest to intelligence services.

In the days after the attack, in Southport, near Liverpool, police found the deadly poison ricin and a PDF file including an Al Qaeda training manual at his home which he shared with his parents, who are originally from Rwanda. He is said to have possessed the manual between August 29, 2021, and July 30, 2024. It took several months for police to disclose that they had charged him. Documents about Nazi Germany, the Rwandan genocide and car bombs were also found on devices at his home.

The delay in bringing the charges, despite questions from media outlets over the searches at his home, led to accusations of a cover-up from public figures.

Senior officers said the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were not classed as acts of terrorism and that an ideology is critical in deciding whether a crime counts as terrorism.

Responding to Rudakubana’s guilty plea, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Axel Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to murder and a terrorism charge. Will we ever find out the whole truth?”

Demonstrations break out across the UK over Southport attack – in pictures

Protesters scuffle with police during the "Enough is Enough" protest in Whitehall, London, following the fatal stabbing of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class on Monday in Southport, Merseyside. AP

More than 100 people have been arrested in London as further protests took place across the country in the wake of the Southport stabbings. PA

Police officers clash with protesters in Whitehall, London. AP

A flare is lit during the protest in London. PA

A protester shouts at police officers in London. PA

A police car burns as officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool following a violent protest. PA

A police car burns in Hartlepool. PA

Officers in riot gear pass a burnt-out car in Hartlepool. PA

Mr Farage was prevented from asking questions about the case in the House of Commons. Speaking after today's hearing, he said Reform UK will ask Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to appear in Parliament and account for why Rudakubana’s terrorist links were not revealed sooner.

“I asked that question 24 hours after the murders. I said why are we not being told the truth? Was this man known to the authorities? We were met with a complete wall of silence,” said Mr Farage.

“I think that the government are responsible for the most astonishing cover-up. I think that we need an apology from the Home Secretary and an explanation as to why we have been denied the basic truth.”

Troubled teen

Aged 17 at the time of the attack, Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents and moved with his family to the village of Banks in Lancashire about a decade ago.

Teachers had concerns about his behaviour from the time he was 13. He was permanently excluded from secondary school over claims he was carrying a knife and later returned to attack someone with a hockey stick. He claimed he was being racially bullied and needed a weapon to protect himself.

He then attended two specialist schools, where teachers continued to have concerns about his behaviour. His in-person attendance at one of them was less than 1 per cent, it is understood.

Just a week before he went to the dance class where he carried out his killings, he booked a taxi to take him to his former school, but his father stopped him from leaving.

A profile of his father, Alphonse Rudakubana, printed in the local newspaper in 2015 said he was originally from Rwanda, a country that suffered a deadly genocide in the early 1990s, and moved to the UK in 2002.

Rudakubana, the youngest son of the family, was born in Cardiff, where neighbours of the family described a “lovely couple” with a hardworking father and stay-at-home mother to “two boisterous boys”.

Speaking outside court after the hearing, deputy chief crown prosecutor Ursula Doyle said: “This was an unspeakable attack – one which left an enduring mark on our community and the nation for its savagery and senselessness.

“At the start of the school holidays, a day which should have been one of carefree innocence, of children enjoying a dance workshop and making friendship bracelets, became a scene of the darkest horror as Axel Rudakubana carried out his meticulously planned rampage.

“It is clear that this was a young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence. He has shown no sign of remorse.”

The victims

Three girls died at the Taylor Swift-themed class on a small business park in the seaside town shortly before noon on July 29 last year.

Alice, who grew up in a Portuguese household, was dedicated to dance. She was pictured eagerly waiting to get into the Taylor Swift-themed event on the day she was killed. The animal lover enjoyed watching Disney Plus with popcorn, her parents said.

Her father Sergio and mother Alexandra, said Alice was “our perfect dream child, everything was idyllic from the moment you arrived”.

Bebe’s parents described her as a “sweet, kind, and spirited girl”. A statement from Lauren and Ben King said: “Our beloved Bebe, only six years old, was full of joy, light, and love, and she will always remain in our hearts as the sweet, kind, and spirited girl we adore.”

Bebe’s parents also said their older daughter, Genie, witnessed the attack and managed to escape, praising her “incredible strength and courage”.

At her funeral last summer, Elsie was described as “a little girl who loved a big party”. Her coffin, topped with a blue soft toy, was carried up a pink carpet as members of her cheerleading squad, Vortex Cheer, formed a guard of honour.

Taylor Swift’s Love Story, one of her favourite songs, was performed at the end of the service. The other children injured in the attack cannot be named for legal reasons. The final girl injured was released from hospital on August 8 last year.

Businessman John Hayes, 63 was stabbed in the leg while trying to disarm Rudakubana. He ran from his office to help when he realised people were injured.

“I didn’t even realise I’d been stabbed initially, until I looked down and saw blood coming out my leg and I tried to kick him with my right leg and then that’s when I fell over,” he said.

The class instructor, Leanne Lucas, 35, suffered serious stab wounds while trying to protect two girls, but survived the attack.