Rudakubana pleads guilty to murder of girls in Southport

A teenager has admitted to murdering three children in a "meticulously planned" mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport, which sparked widespread riots.

- AMY-CLARE MARTIN ANDY GREGORY

Axel Rudakubana, aged 18, also pleaded guilty to 10 charges of attempted murder following the frenzied knife attack that shocked the nation last summer, as well as producing the deadly poison ricin and possession of a document which contained alQaeda training material.

He had been due to stand trial for four weeks at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, having denied the charges last year. But he dramatically changed his plea on the first day of the trial.

Six-year-old Bebe King and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe were killed in the attack on 29 July 2024, while nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar died from her injuries in hospital afterwards.

A further five children and two adults were rushed to a hospital in critical condition with knife injuries after he ambushed the children’s holiday class at the Hart Space in Southport, where girls were due to have a fun morning of making bracelets, dancing to Taylor Swift and yoga.

The prime minister said there were “grave questions” to answer about the state’s failure to protect the girls after it emerged Rudakubana had been referred to the government antiextremism scheme Prevent three times, amid concerns over his fixation with violence.

Sir Keir Starmer said: “Britain will rightly demand answers, and we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.” His comments came after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called for a “complete account of who in government knew what and when” about the case.

The tragic attack sparked a string of far-right riots across the country after misinformation was spread online about the killer’s identity.