Southport: new laws to tackle 'lone wolf' attackers following damning inquiry
A report found the deaths of three little girls "could and should" have been prevented
New laws to tackle those planning attacks without an ideology are to be brought forward, following a damning inquiry into the Southport attack.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were killed when a teenage knifeman entered a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July 2024.
The review found their deaths "could and should" have been avoided, if agencies and the killer's parents had taken action.
In a Commons statement on Monday, Shabana Mahmood said a wider issue of “boys whose minds are warped by time spent in isolation online” had been identified by the inquiry.
Killer Axel Rudakubana was referred to the Government’s anti-terror programme Prevent three times before his attack on the dance class on July 29 2024, the inquiry heard.
But chairman Sir Adrian Fulford said officers were “hampered” by a lack of clarity on whether they should take someone on who demonstrated signs of being fixated on violence but without adherence to a particular ideology.
Ms Mahmood said: “Unlike terrorist attacks, if you are planning an attack without an underlying ideology, there is no crime on the statute book.”
She suggested legislation to fill this gap would “be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time allows”.
Ms Mahmood later added: “The inquiry also identifies a wider issue – there are rising numbers of young men who are fascinated by extreme violence, boys whose minds are warped by time spent in isolation online.
“This is a risk to us all. Where someone is vulnerable to terrorism, they can and should be managed through the Prevent programme, however, where they are not, there is no clear approach to that risk.
“Today we published the terms of reference for the second part of the Southport Inquiry, and it will face directly into this challenge.”
Sir Adrian said rejecting Rudakubana for further action under the Prevent programme was the “wrong decision”.
He also said there were three further “missed opportunities” for Rudakubana to be referred to Prevent.
But he said he was unable to determine “with any degree of certainty” as to what the outcome would have been if Rudakubana had been adopted by the programme.
In his report, he said: “Put simply, this was a clearly signposted disaster waiting to happen, yet there was no effective mechanism to prevent it.
“In my judgment, the events of July 29 2024 have exposed a significant gap in the mechanisms by which the public are provided protection, including by way of adoption by the Prevent programme.”
Ms Mahmood said the Government had reviewed Prevent thresholds and published updated guidance.