Keir Starmer says state failures over Southport attacks ‘leap off the page’ as he vows ‘fundamental change’ to protect nation’s children: Live updates

LISTEN: The Trial – The Southport Dance School, our podcast covering the latest news from the court case of Axel Rudakubana
LISTEN: The Trial – The Southport Dance School, our podcast covering the latest news from the court case of Axel Rudakubana

Published: 02:33 EST, 21 January 2025 | Updated: 15:03 EST, 21 January 2025

Sir Keir Starmer said the Southport killings must act as a ‘line in the sand’ for Britain with ‘fundamental change’ needed to protect children from future attacks.

The Prime Minister said he wouldn’t let ‘any institution’ of the state deflect from failures which he said ‘leap off the page’ in Southport where Axel Rudakubana murdered three young girls.

Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the killings, had been referred to the Prevent programme three times and only admitted murder yesterday at Liverpool Crown Court where he was due to stand trial.

Mr Starmer also dismissed claims of a Southport ‘cover-up’ insisting information released earlier may have seen Rudakubana walk away a ‘free man’ as a result of his trial collapsing.

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Thanks for joining us this morning as we brought you live coverage of Sir Keir Starmer’s Downing Street press conference.

The Prime Minister addressed the nation after the government launched a public inquiry into the Southport murders following Axel Rudakubana guilty pleas at Liverpool Crown Court.

Rudakubana 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.

Mr Starmer said state failures ‘leap off the page’ as he vowed to bring in change to protect children against a new kind of terrorism perpetrated by lone actors.

Thanks again for following today and we’ll see you again soon.

Read more here:

Kemi Badenoch – Starmer and Cooper were worried about Prevent ‘alienating communities’

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch during an appearance on LBC Radio for a phone-in, at the Global Studios in London. Picture date: Thursday January 16, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Badenoch. Photo credit should read: James Manning/PA Wire

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has welcomed the public inquiry into the Southport murders but said it must not be used by Labour to ‘hide behind failings’.

Ms Badenoch said previous attempts to toughen Prevent, the government’s anti-extremism programme, were thwarted by Sir Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper when in opposition.

Writing on X earlier this morning, Ms Badenoch said:

The Prime Minister’s announcement of an inquiry into the Southport murders is welcome. But contrast his press conference in No10 this morning with the govt silence in the days following the horrific attacks. There remain serious questions about the transparency of government information at the time of the unrest that followed these horrific killings.

Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, has warned about the govt leaving an ‘information gap’ in serious cases such as this. So I’m pleased the govt has announced an inquiry into the Southport murderer, there were clearly multiple state failings and it must never happen again.

But, when the Conservatives were trying to toughen the Prevent anti-extremism programme, Starmer and Cooper were running for office on manifestos worried about Prevent ‘alienating communities’. A public inquiry is important, but Labour must not use it to hide behind their own failings.

Starmer vows to adopt prosecutorial approach to Southport failings

Sir Keir Starmer said he will approach the response to Southport in the same way he did as chief prosecutor handling rape gang cases in Rochdale.

Speaking earlier in Downing Street, he said:

I was the prosecutor who first spotted failures in grooming cases in my institution, the CPS, 14 years ago. And I was the prosecutor who first did something about it by bringing the rape gangs in Rochdale to justice.

And so my approach as prime minister will be no different. If any shortcomings are now holding back the ability of this country to keep its citizens and its children safe, I will find them and I will root them out.

Watch: Tories welcome inquiry into Southport attacks

We can now bring you footage of shadow health secretay Chris Philp speaking to the BBC earlier this morning as he welcomed the public inquiry announced by the Government.

Mr Philp said he believed there were ‘legitimate questions’ for the government to answer as he suggested there should have been more transparency earlier over the Southport stabbings.

Watch his interview on BBC Breakfast below:

Richard Tice – Keir Starmer ‘deliberately misleading’ British people

Reform MP Richard Tice has claimed Sir Keir Starmer is ‘deliberately misleading’ the British people following his Downing Street address.

Mr Tice claimed the Prime Minister and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper withheld information about the attacks because of ‘political correctness’.

Watch his reaction on Sky News below:

WATCH: Starmer hits out at PREVENT failings that missed Southort killer

Five things we learned from Keir Starmer’s Downing Street address

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference at the Downing Street Briefing Room in central London on January 21, 2025, following the guilty plea of the Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana. Teenager Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty Monday to the

If you’re just joining us, we’ve been reporting live updates from Keir Starmer’s Downing Street press conference into the Southport murders after the Government launched a public inquiry into the attacks.

Here’s five key takeaways from his address:

Keir Starmer repeated the line that the Southport tragedy must be a ‘line in the sand’ for Britain – and said he will not allow any state institution to ‘deflect’ from the failures that ‘leap off the page’ around Axel Rudakubana
The Prime Minister admitted that he knew the details of the case ‘as they were emerging’, but could not disclose them or risk the trial collapsing. He said the killer could have walked away a ‘free man’ if information was released earlier.
Sir Keir said that while Britain may have once been terrified of organised terrorist groups, it now faces a new threat – boys radicalised by online material at home in their bedrooms. He said that they were ‘fixated on that extreme violence, seemingly for its own sake’.
Starmer denied that there was any ‘cover-up’ over the Southport killings, and said he will leave ‘no stone unturned’ as they try to protect Britain.
The PM denied that the Southport attacks could be blamed on immigration or funding cuts, saying it ‘goes deeper’ and rather shows ‘a country slowly turning away from itself’.

Starmer says no one can ‘justify’ attacks of far-right following Southport tragedy

Responding to a question from GB News about whether he regretted ‘blaming the far-right’, the Prime Minister said: ‘Responsibility for the violence lies with them that perpetrated it.

‘I was in Southport the day after these terrible murders. I was acknowledging and thanking the frontline police officers and ambulance who had been at the scene. You can imagine what they had been through.

‘They were back at work the next day. They were saying it was just their job, I could see in their eyes the impact it had had on them – what they had to deal with, what they had to see, how they endured that.

‘As I arrived back in London, those same officers were putting their riot gear on and having bricks thrown at them. Those same officers. I don’t think anyone can justify that nor should they attempt to do so.’

Southport MP Patrick Hurley reacts to Starmer’s statement

Southport MP Patrick Hurley said that it ‘has to be’ a line in the sand, responding to Keir Starmer’s address.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: ‘We need to make sure nothing like what happened in Southport back in July is allowed to happen again.

‘The Prime Minister was clear there that the nature of the extremist threat has changed. It’s much more distributed, it’s much more around non-organisational, almost self-radicalisation, and we need to make sure that law enforcement, crime prevention and all arms of the state are now equipped to deal with that evolving threat.

‘The girls in Southport deserve no less than that.’

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Patrick Hurley, the Labour MP for Southport looks at tributes near the scene in Hart Street, Southport, where two children died and nine were injured in a

Patrick Hurley, the Labour MP for Southport looks at tributes near the scene in Hart Street with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper

Starmer: I knew the details as they were emerging

Asked why a public inquiry is necessary, Sir Keir told journalists: ‘We need a public inquiry to answer all of the questions that the families, the people of Southport and the country have about this case, and to ensure that no stone is unturned, that every failure is exposed and dealt with.

‘I also think we need an inquiry because we are dealing with a new cohort, a different threat, this individualised extreme violence, and we have to have the laws and framework in place to deal with it.’

He said that work to review the anti-extremism scheme Prevent and moves to change the law will start now rather than waiting for the end of the public inquiry.

The Prime Minister said he had known details of the case as they were emerging after the attack, but to have made them public would have risked a future criminal trial collapsing.

‘Yes, I knew the details as they were emerging. That is the usual practice in a case such as this,’ he said.

‘But you know, and I know, that it would not have been right to disclose those details. The only losers, if the details have been disclosed, would be the victims and the families, because it ran the risk the trial would collapse. I’m never going to do that.’

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference at the Downing Street Briefing Room in central London, Britain January 21, 2025, following the guilty plea of the Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS

Starmer: There was no cover-up – and now I will leave no stone unturned

Starmer has firecely denied a ‘cover-up’ over the Southport killings as he said he will ‘root out’ shortcomings holding back the protection of British citizens.

He said: ‘Southport must be a line in the sand, but nothing will be off the table in this inquiry, nothing, and most importantly, it will lead to change.

‘I know people will be watching right now and they will be saying we have heard all this before, the promises, the sorrow, the inquiry that comes and goes, an inability to change that frankly has become the oxygen of wider conspiracy.

‘And we have seen that throughout this case. A suggestion that there has been a cover-up.

‘I want to put on record that yesterday’s guilty verdict only happened because hundreds, if not thousands of dedicated public servants worked towards it, many of whom endured absolutely harrowing circumstances, particularly in the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

‘And yet I am under no illusions that until the wider state shows the country it can change, not just what it delivers for people but also its culture, then this atmosphere of mistrust will remain.

‘So I want to be crystal clear in front of the British people today. We will leave no stone unturned.

‘I was the prosecutor who first spotted failures in grooming cases in my institution, the CPS, 14 years ago. And I was the prosecutor who first did something about it, by bringing the rape gangs in Rochdale to justice.

‘And my approach as Prime Minister will be no different. If any shortcomings are now holding back the ability of this country to keep its citizens and its children safe I will find them and I will root them out.’

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 21: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference at the Downing Street Briefing Room following the guilty plea of the Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana, on January 21, 2025 in London, England. Teenager Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty Monday to the

Starmer: Southport attack cannot be blamed on immigration or funding cuts.

Starmer has denied that the Southport attack can be blamed on immigration or funding cuts – saying it ‘goes deeper’.

He said: ‘A growing sense that the rights and responsibilities that we owe to one another, the set of unwritten rules that hold a nation together, have in recent years been ripped apart.

‘Children who have stopped going to school since the pandemic, young people who have opted out of work or education.

‘More and more people retreating into parallel lives, whether through failures of integration or a country slowly turning away from itself.’

Starmer: Britain now faces a new threat – young men in their bedrooms obsessed with vioence

Starmer has said that Britain is now facing a new threat of terrorism, from ‘loners’ rather than organised groups.

He says they have tasked commissioners to reform prevent programmes to address the new threat.

Starmer said: ‘Britain now faces a new threat. Terrorism has changed.

‘We also see acts of extreme violence perpetrated by loners, misfits, young men in their bedroom accessing all manner of material online, desperate for notoriety.

‘Sometimes inspired by traditional terrorist groups but fixated on that extreme violence, seemingly for its own sake.’

Starmer doubles-down on his defence for not revealing more details about Rudakubana

Starmer doubled-down on his defence for not revealing more details about Rudakubana – defending the decision not to release further information earlier.

He said: ‘The law of this country forbade me or anyone else from disclosing details sooner.’

The PM added: ‘Throughout this case, to this point, we have only been focused on justice. If this trial had collapsed because I or anyone else had revealed crucial details while the police were investigating, while the case was being built, while we were awaiting a verdict, the vile individual who had committed these crimes would have walked away a free man .

‘The prospect of justice destroyed for the victims and their families. I would never do that and no one would ever forgive me if I had.’

Starmer: ‘I will not let any institution of the state deflect from their failure’

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Southport killings by teenager Axel Rudakubana ‘must be a line in the sand for Britain’ and there must be ‘fundamental change’ in how the country protects its children.

Condemning law enforcement failings, he said: ‘I will not let any institution of the state deflect from their failure. Failure which in this case, frankly, leaps off the page.’

On the decision to not act sooner, he said it was ‘clearly wrong’.

Starmer leads address with tributes to child victims

Keir Starmer started his address with a tribute to the victims of the Southport attack.

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died following the attack at the Taylor Swift-themed class in The Hart Space on a small business park in the seaside town shortly before noon on July 29.

The Prime Minister said: ‘For the families and the nation, I first want to recognise their unimaginable grief because I know the nation grieves for them.’

WATCH: Who is Southport killer Axel Rudakubana?

RECAP: How Axel Rudakubana’s guilty plea sparked political firestorm

Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July.
It later emerged that the killer 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.
The Mail has learnt that authorities knew of Rudakubana’s disturbing interest in a school massacre as far back as 2019.
It was reported he was also referred twice in 2021 after viewing material about the 2017 London terror attack.
The Prime Minister lashed out at the crimes committed by the ‘vile and sick’ teenager, who pleaded guilty to slaughtering three young girls in Merseyside.
Sir Keir vowed to investigate what happened, saying: ‘Britain will rightly demand answers. And we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.’
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a public inquiry into Rudakubana’s murders that can ‘get to the truth about what happened and what needs to change’.
Downing Street rejected claims there had been a ‘gigantic cover-up’ ahead of Rudakubana’s court case, amid allegations by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. The PM’s spokesman told reporters it was important not to prejudice the trial, adding: ‘Clearly if the trial had collapsed and the attacker walked free, nobody would have forgiven that happening.’

Shadow Home Secretary: Government ‘didn’t share information which they had in their possession’

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has claimed it appeared the Government ‘withheld information about the perpetrator, potentially, on CPS advice’ in the case of the Southport stabbings.

Asked whether he was confident in the Prevent counter-terrorism programme, he told Times Radio: ‘The Prevent programme is a long-running programme. It deals with about 7,000 referrals per year.

‘There was quite a comprehensive review of Prevent by William Shawcross that was published in February of last year … So, one question I’ll be asking the Government is whether they plan to implement the recommendations in the Shawcross report.

‘I think it’s just important the inquiry looks at all of this, gets to the truth both about what happened beforehand, but critically also the Government’s response afterwards, and what they knew when and whether they should have put more information into the public domain.

‘It appears they withheld information about the perpetrator, potentially, on CPS advice.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp speaks to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in London, after appearing on the BBC One current affairs programme, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Picture date: Sunday January 5, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Grooming. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

‘William Shawcross has raised questions over that, saying that if you leave a void, then speculation fills it, and William Shawcross is obviously an expert lawyer, and also says there’s quite a lot you can say about these incidents afterwards.

‘But clearly in this case, the Government, it appears, didn’t share information which they had in their possession.’

The Government has said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was clear that information about the perpetrator’s past could not be made public before to avoid jeopardising the trial that had been scheduled, which is in line with the normal rules of the justice system.

Keir Starmer to DENY Southport ‘cover-up’ claims but condemn ‘failings’ that allowed killer to go on the rampage

The PM is expected to reject allegations of a ‘cover up’ of terrorist links in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity – which was followed by a wave of rioting across the country. The authorities are adamant that they could not risk the case collapsing.

Rudakubana pleaded guilty yesterday to murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July.

It has emerged he was referred three times to anti-extremism programme Prevent amid concerns over his fixation with violence.

Horrifying new details of Axel Rudakubana’s 12 minutes of terror

Axel Rudakubana’s rampage took just 12 minutes – but the effects of it will scar a community for decades.

The teenager – dressed in a green hoodie pulled up over his head and a surgical mask, despite the warm weather – arrived in a taxi outside the Hart Space in Southport.

Rudukubana stayed silent throughout the journey and refused to pay the driver upon arrival. A member of the public confronted him and told him to pay, to which the teenager responded: ‘What are you going to do about it?’

On that horror July day last year, he was seen on CCTV entering the dance studio at 11.45am. At the time, the children were making bracelets and singing along to music. Because it was a warm day, a teacher opened a window and saw Rudakubana outside, but thought nothing of it.

The young girls were enjoying a Taylor Swift-themed dance and craft day, but within 30 seconds of Rudukubana entering, screams could be heard.

Read more here:

Tory says Government ‘potentially withheld information’ on Rudakubana

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has claimed it appeared the Government ‘withheld information about the perpetrator, potentially, on CPS advice’ in the case of the Southport stabbings.

Asked whether he was confident in the Prevent counter-terrorism programme, he told Times Radio:

The Prevent programme is a long-running programme. It deals with about 7,000 referrals per year. There was quite a comprehensive review of Prevent by William Shawcross that was published in February of last year … So, one question I’ll be asking the Government is whether they plan to implement the recommendations in the Shawcross report.

I think it’s just important the inquiry looks at all of this, gets to the truth both about what happened beforehand, but critically also the Government’s response afterwards, and what they knew when and whether they should have put more information into the public domain. It appears they withheld information about the perpetrator, potentially, on CPS advice.

Keir Starmer’s full statement after Southport killer pleads guilty to murders

Here is Keir Starmer’s full statement after Axel Rudakubana admitted murdering three girls in Southport on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Our thoughts are with the families of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar – and the families of everyone affected – who will be saved the ordeal of a protracted trial.

The news that the vile and sick Southport killer will be convicted is welcome.

It is also a moment of trauma for the nation and there are grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls.

Britain will rightly demand answers. And we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.

At the centre of this horrific event, there is still a family and community grief that is raw; a pain that not even justice can ever truly heal.

Although no words today can ever truly convey the depths of that pain, I want the families to know that our thoughts are with them and everyone in Southport affected by this barbaric crime. The whole nation grieves with them.

Starmer rejects ‘gigantic cover-up’ claims put forward by Farage

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaking during the Reform UK North West conference at Crowne Plaza Chester. Picture date: Saturday January 11, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Grooming. Photo credit should read: Ian Cooper/PA Wire

Downing Street rejected claims there had been a ‘gigantic cover-up’ ahead of Rudakubana’s court case, amid allegations by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

The PM’s spokesman told reporters it was important not to prejudice the trial, adding: ‘Clearly if the trial had collapsed and the attacker walked free, nobody would have forgiven that happening.’

Rudakubana pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court to the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

He admitted the attempted murders of eight other children – who cannot be named for legal reasons – as well as class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

He also pleaded guilty to having a kitchen knife in a public place and will be sentenced on Thursday.

Prevent counter-extremism programme ‘needs to change’, says terror expert

Prevent, the UK’s flagship anti-terror strategy, needs to change because of the internet, according to the Government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation.

Jonathan Hall KC has told BBC Radio 4 this morning a review of Prevent was needed when asked what is needed from a public inquiry into the Southport attacks.

He said there were questions over which authorities should deal with people obsessed with violence but not driven by ideology.

Mr Hall said:

I mean, you’ve got to go back to the 2000s, so there were the terrible 7/7 attacks on the London transport system, and the real threat there was Islamist terrorism coming from al Qaeda, which was group based. There was an emir, a leader. There were preachers, and there was this radicalising ideology, and the idea was you’d scoop up people who were obsessed by this sort of ideology, de-radicalise them, and that would help the public.

But we’re living in a different world now, which is the internet world, where people don’t go to individuals. They’re not part of groups. They go to the computer, and they sometimes get a whole mix of stuff, and sometimes, I’m afraid, they just become obsessed by violence.

Asked whether Prevent was working, Mr Hall said: ‘It needs to change because of the internet. That’s the key factor.’

Public inquiry launched to ‘get to the truth’ about Rudakubana’s murders

This is an undated handout photo issued by Merseyside Police of Axel Rudakubana on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, who has pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court, England, to killing three girls and injuring others in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. (Merseyside Police via AP)

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last night announced a public inquiry into Axel Rudakubana’s murders that can ‘get to the truth about what happened and what needs to change’.

She said it was ‘essential’ there were answers about the ‘terrible’ Southport attack.

The Mail has learnt that authorities knew of Rudakubana’s disturbing interest in a school massacre as far back as 2019.

He was referred to the Government’s de-radicalisation scheme Prevent that year on the basis that he had been researching for information about the killing of children in school shootings.

It was reported he was also referred twice in 2021 after viewing material about the 2017 London terror attack.

But experts deemed that there was no counter-terrorism risk at the time as he was considered not to be motivated by a terrorist ideology.

Keir Starmer to give emergency address after admitting state ‘failed’ Southport victims

Good morning and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as Keir Starmer prepares to deliver an address to the nation from Downing Street on the Southport murders.

The Prime Minister will speak after the Government announced an inquiry into how the state failed to identify the risk posed by the killer Axel Rudakubana.

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.

The Prime Minister lashed out at the crimes committed by the ‘vile and sick’ teenager, who pleaded guilty to slaughtering three young girls in Merseyside in July.

Stick with us as we bring you live updates from Downing Street.