A public inquiry is to be launched after the Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, admitted to killing three young girls in July 2021. The prime minister, who has issued a warning of a “new and dangerous threat” posed by violence-obsessed individuals, made the announcement shortly after Rudakubana’s admission. Cooper stated that public bodies failed to properly identify the danger posed by Rudakubana, whose obsession with extreme violence was well-documented, and enabled him to purchase a knife on Amazon despite his past conviction for a violent offence against a child at school. She claims that Rudakubana had admitted to carrying a knife around 10 times prior to purchasing the one he used in the attack.
Cooper stated that there would be a thorough review of the anti-extremism program Prevent, as the accused was referred to it three times between 2019 and 2021. The program failed to flag Rudakubana as a serious threat as he did not show commitment to a single radical ideology.
The circumstances surrounding Rudakubana’s offence have prompted a wider examination of the government’s concern regarding the increasing threat from young people with an interest in extreme violence. Cooper suggested that 162 people were referred to Prevent for concerns related to possible school massacres last year amid a wider climb in violent extremism and youth violence. The number of children investigated for their involvement with terrorism has tripled in three years, she added.
Opposition parties have called for the government to release information concerning Rudakubana’s previously investigated offences. Cooper has responded that releasing information could have prejudiced his ability to have a fair trial under UK law, which would let Rudakubana walk away a free man. However, the home secretary acknowledged that misinformation on social media about Rudakubana’s identity had caused violent disorder, and existing laws were being reviewed by the Law Commission
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