Social media companies were last night ordered to remove 'dangerous' online material accused of fueling Southport killer Axel Rudakubana's sick obsession with violence.
Yvette Cooper told the tech giants that the government would not tolerate them “profiting from hosting content that puts children's lives at risk.”
The Home Secretary said an “online ecosystem” is “radicalizing our children while sweeping away safety measures.”
She also vowed to crack down on the online sale of knives, saying it was a “total disgrace” that Rudakubana was able to buy knives on Amazon – including two bought a fortnight before the attack – despite being a minor and having a history of violence, including an attack on a fellow student with a hockey stick.
Sir Keir Starmer said the Southport killings were 'not a one-off' and that Britain faced a new threat of 'extreme violence carried out by loners, misfits and young men in their bedrooms'.
He confirmed that ministers were reviewing “the laws about what we can access online”, adding: “We still have rules in this country about what you can see in the cinema, and yet you can access endless material online .'
In an alarming revelation, Ms Cooper said 162 people had been referred to the anti-extremism Prevent program last year after 'expressing an interest in school massacres'.
Social media companies were last night ordered to remove 'dangerous' online material accused of fueling Southport killer Axel Rudakubana's sick obsession with violence. Yvette Cooper (pictured) told the tech giants that the government would not tolerate them 'profiting from hosting content that endangers children's lives'
Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) said the Southport killings were 'not a one-off' and that Britain faced a new threat of 'extreme violence carried out by loners, misfits and young men in their bedrooms'
The Home Secretary said there were “so many signs that he had become dangerous, but the action against him was far too weak.” There were as many as 15 missed opportunities by government agencies to stop Rudakubana (pictured), the Times reported
She said she was “deeply concerned” that the number of under-18s under investigation for involvement in terrorism has tripled in the past three years.
Rudakubana pleaded guilty on Monday to the murders of Bebe King, aged six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar during a 12-minute knife rampage in Southport last July.
Ministers have ordered a public inquiry into the state's shortcomings in this case. The killer, who was 17 at the time of the attack, was referred to the Prevent program three times, but each time was deemed not to be motivated by terrorist ideology.
Ms Cooper told MPs that an investigation into his contact with the program found he had 'admitted to carrying a knife on more than ten occasions but the action against him was far too weak'.
She said he had been repeatedly referred to Prevent because he 'showed an interest in school shootings, the London Bridge attack, the IRA, MI5 and the Middle East'.
The investigation, conducted since the summer, concluded that “too much weight was placed on the absence of ideology” and that his case “should not have been closed” by counter-terrorism police, who assessed whether he posed a threat.
Ms Cooper said “several” government agencies had been in contact with Rudakubana during his teenage years.
Lancashire Police visited his home five times in response to calls about his disturbing behaviour. He also liaised with social services, mental health workers and the local youth offending team, as well as Prevent.
The Home Secretary said there were “so many signs that he had become dangerous, but the action against him was far too weak.”
There were as many as 15 missed opportunities by government agencies to stop Rudakubana, The Times reported.
Sir Keir acknowledged that many would regard the killings as a terrorist attack. He said ministers are examining whether the legal definition of terrorism should be changed to include attacks intended to spread terror but not motivated by an obvious political ideology.
Rudakubana, who is now 18 and will be sentenced tomorrow, also admitted producing the deadly poison ricin and possessing an Al Qaeda training manual, both of which are terrorist offences.
