Keir Starmer to address nation as Government to probe Southport killings

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Prime Minister will address the nation on Tuesday morning after the Government announced an inquiry into how the state failed to identify the risk posed by the Southport killer.

Axel Rudakubana, who pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July, was referred three times to anti-extremism programme Prevent amid concerns over his fixation with violence.

But despite this and contact with other state agencies, the authorities failed to stop the attack which claimed the lives of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.Announcing the inquiry on Monday evening, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the country needed “independent answers” on Prevent and other agencies’ contact with the “extremely violent” Rudakubana and “how he came to be so dangerous”.Following Rudakubana’s guilty pleas, Sir Keir Starmer described the 18-year-old as “vile and sick”, and said there were “grave questions to answer” on how the state “failed” to protect the three girls.The Prime Minister added: “Britain will rightly demand answers, and we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.”As well as the three murders, Rudakubana admitted 10 counts of attempted murder, possession of a knife, production of a biological toxin, ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit acts of terrorism.The terrorism offence relates to a PDF file entitled Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual.Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.No one will be