Teacher’s fears over killer met with ‘red tape’

A teacher emailed her colleague in frustration at the “frightening red tape” preventing her from getting police, social services and mental health interventions for the Southport killer, a public inquiry heard.

Violence-obsessed Axel Rudakubana had assaulted other children, attacked his own father and been caught carrying knives between 2019 when he murdered three girls at a dance studio on 29 July 2024.

But different agencies – including Prevent, MI5 and social services – appeared to pass his case between them, the inquiry heard.

Nicholas Moss KC, lead counsel to Southport Inquiry, said it would focus in the coming months on whether any agencies involved had “taken responsibility”.

He said it was “notable” that the then 17-year-old appeared to have deliberately targeted women and girls when he chose to attack the Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop.

Nine-year-old Alice Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were killed and eight other children and two adults were seriously wounded.

The inquiry, sitting at Liverpool Town Hall, had been set up to explore the killer’s history, his contact with relevant agencies and any “missed opportunities” to prevent the “manifestly and extremely cowardly” attack.

Delivering his opening statement, Mr Moss said the “red tape” email was sent by Cheryl Smith, a safeguarding lead at Presfield High School in Southport, who had been trying to get the teenager to attend school for around a year.

Mr Moss said the school’s efforts “came to a head” on 21 March 2023 when Ms Smith wrote to a colleague describing how she had contacted social services, child mental health teams and the police to try and get them to intervene – all in vain.

She added: “Short of breaking in I don’t know how to see this kid.”

Mr Moss said the first phase of the inquiry would focus on three “central themes” – whether agencies “took responsibility or ownership” for his case, whether anyone was looking at the “overall picture” of his risk, and what “fundamental change” may be necessary to make the system work.

Mr Moss said the killer’s internet use and purchase of weapons – including machetes and archery equipment – would also be significant.

The inquiry heard his behaviour at school began to “deteriorate rapidly” from the start of Year 9, when he was 13.

Teachers at the Range High School in Formby had reported incidents including hitting other children, and commenting “that’s why teachers get murdered” when he was given a detention.

He was expelled from mainstream education in October 2019 after admitting he had taken a knife to school because he “wanted to kill a bully”.

In the December, he went back to the school and attacked a pupil with a hockey stick while carrying a knife in his backpack.

This resulted in him pleading guilty to assault and carrying an offensive weapon.

Between 2019 and 2021, he was referred to the government’s counter-extremism service Prevent three times by teachers concerned at comments he had made, and internet searches for topics including “school shootings” and terror attacks.

But on each occasion, including after a multi-agency meeting with MI5, the referrals were closed by counter terrorism officers because no “terrorist or domestic extremist ideology” was identified.

Mr Moss said during that time, various teams within Lancashire County Council’s social services department opened and closed cases with him.

Mr Moss said the killer’s father, Alphonse, asked for support from social workers and mental health services when his behaviour became increasingly unmanageable.

On different occasions ahead of the attack, the teenager kicked his father, poured milk over him and threatened him with a knife, the inquiry heard.

Mr Moss also said the inquiry would also address the behaviour of certain individuals, including taxi driver Gary Poland, who dropped the killer off at the dance studio.

Dashcam footage showed Mr Poland saw the teenager enter the building at 11:45 BST. Children began to run out screaming a few seconds later.

But Mr Poland, who will give evidence at a later date, drove away from the scene and collected another fare before eventually calling the police at 12:46.

The inquiry heard he told the police he was “sorry” and had acted out of “complete shock”.

Mr Rudakubana had also disclosed to police that he found a bow and arrow in his son’s bedroom around a week before the attack, and had signed for deliveries of machetes his son had ordered online.

Earlier, Sir Adrian Fulford, chairman of the inquiry, promised to do everything “humanly possible” to answer the questions of bereaved families and victims.

The inquiry continues.