Southport killer live updates: Judge apologises to victims’ families as they miss Axel Rudakubana plead guilty over murderous knife rampage

We’ve now got some reaction to Axel Rudakubana’s unexpected guilty pleas at Liverpool Crown Court.

Speaking outside court, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Ursula Doyle (pictured) said:

This was an unspeakable attack – one which left an enduring mark on our community and the nation for its savagery and senselessness. At the start of the school holidays, a day which should have been one of carefree innocence; of children enjoying a dance workshop and making friendship bracelets, became a scene of the darkest horror as Axel Rudakubana carried out his meticulously planned rampage.

It is clear that this was a young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence. He has shown no sign of remorse. The prosecution was determined to prove his guilt and I am deeply grateful that today’s plea has spared the families at the heart of this case the pain of having to relive their ordeal through a trial.

Today, our thoughts are with all those whose lives were altered by what happened on that day. Most of all, we think of Elsie, Bebe, and Alice – the three beautiful young girls whose lives were cut short – and wish strength and courage to the families who loved and cherished them.

Reform leader Nigel Farage has reacted to today’s change of pleas to ask whether more information about the teenager will now come to light.

Mr Farage, who is in Washington to witness Donald Trump’s inauguration, raised questions about the Southport attacks in the wake of the murders.

Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty to a terrorism offence relating to a PDF file entitled Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual.

He is said to have possessed the document between August 29, 2021 and July 30, 2024.

The 180-page document, also known as the ‘Manchester manual’, was found by police on a computer in a flat in Cheetham Hill in Manchester in May 2000, more than a year before 9/11.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad, then known as SO13, arrested a man called Abu Anas al-Libi as part of Operation Challenge, an investigation with the FBI into the 1998 truck bomb attacks on US embassies in East Africa that killed more than 200 people.

Libi, real name Nazih Abdul-Hamed Nabih al-Ruqaii, had moved to the UK five years earlier. He was released 48-hours later and managed to evade a surveillance team sent to follow him.

Al-Libi was not re-captured until October 2013 when he was tracked down in Tripoli after the fall of Col Muammar Gaddafi. He was sent to New York to stand trial but died of liver disease while in custody in January 2015.

Let’s remind ourselves of the three victims who were brutally murdered at the hands of Rudakubana in Southport on July 29 last years.

The killings of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, horrified the nation and led to trouble flaring in Southport and on the streets across UK towns and cities.

Bebe was described by Marshside Primary School, where she was a pupil, as one of our brightest and most wonderful shining stars.

Speaking at the time, her family said: ‘no words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as we try to deal with the loss of our little girl Bebe.’

Elsie Dot Stancombe, a pupil at Farnborough Road Infant School, was described as a ‘caring and charismatic young lady who loved to please’ by her school.

Headteacher Jennifer Sephton said Elsie had been a ‘loving and bright member of our wonderful community’.

The family of Alice said in a tribute: ‘Keep smiling and dancing like you love to do our Princess, like we said before to you, you’re always our princess and no one would change that. Love from Your Hero Daddy and Mummy.’

Portuguese minister Jose Cesario said his government would support the family in wake of her death.

Below is a full timeline of the Southport stabbings case and the court appearances of Axel Rudakubana until his guilty pleas at Liverpool Crown Court today:

• 2002: Rudakubana’s father Alphonse moves to the UK from Rwanda, according to an interview he gave to his local newspaper in Southport in 2015.
• August 7, 2006: Rudakubana is born in Cardiff, Wales.
• 2013: The family – including Rudakubana’s father, mother and older brother – move from Wales to Banks in Lancashire, a few miles from Southport.
• July 29, 2024: Shortly before midday, a knifeman enters a dance class at The Hart Space in Hart Street in Southport. Bebe, Elsie and Alice are fatally wounded. Eight other children are injured, as are instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes. Police say they have detained a male and seized a knife. Within hours, claims spread online that the suspect is an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023. Some claims include an alleged identity.
• July 30, 2024: In the evening, a peaceful vigil is held outside Southport’s Atkinson arts venue, where flowers are laid in memory of those who died. Shortly after the vigil, a separate protest begins outside the town’s mosque in St Luke’s Road. People throw items towards the mosque, property is damaged and police vehicles are set on fire.
• July 31, 2024: Demonstrators gather in Whitehall, London, for an ‘Enough Is Enough’ protest. Flares and cans are thrown at police and more than 100 people are arrested. Disorder also breaks out in Hartlepool, County Durham, and Aldershot, Hampshire.
• August 1, 2024: Police announce that Rudakubana has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article. He is not named by police because of his age. He appears in court in Liverpool and Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC rules he can be named, as he is due to turn 18 in a week. He initially smiled on entering the courtroom – then kept his face covered by his sweatshirt for the remainder of the proceedings before the case was adjourned. Later that evening, demonstrators gather outside a hotel in Newton Heath, Manchester.
• August 2, 2024: Three police officers are taken to hospital after disorder in Sunderland.
• August 3, 2024: There are scenes of violence during planned protests across the UK, including in Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham and Belfast.
• August 4, 2024: Disorder continues, including outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where masked demonstrators launch lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers.
• August 5, 2024: The Government holds an emergency Cobra meeting in the wake of the disorder and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vows to ‘ramp up criminal justice’. That evening, a peaceful vigil is held in Southport, a week on from the killings. Police deal with disorder in Plymouth, Devon and Darlington, County Durham.
• August 7, 2024: Prison sentences for those involved in the unrest begin to be handed out. Derek Drummond, 58, is the first person to be jailed for violent disorder at Liverpool Crown Court, where he is sentenced to three years. More than 100 protests are planned for across the country, with counter-demonstrations taking place, but the majority of police forces report very little trouble.
• October 29, 2024: Merseyside Police announces Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink the next day charged with production of a biological toxin, Ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
• October 30, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink from HMP Belmarsh to face the two new charges. He holds his sweater over the bottom half of his face and does not respond when asked to confirm his name.
• November 13, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court via videolink. He covers his face with his grey sweatshirt and does not speak throughout the hearing. About 20 family members of victims sit in the public gallery. The case is adjourned until December 12, when a preparatory hearing will take place.
• January 20, 2025: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court for the first day of his trial where he pleads guilty to all 16 charges, including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.

The MP for Southport Patrick Hurley has described how the unexpected guilty pleas had caused ‘surprise and shock’ as he reacted to Axel Rudakubana’s admission at Liverpool Crown Court.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Mr Hurley, a Labour MP, said he was pleased the victims’ families will not have to endure the ‘mental torture’ of sitting through a lengthy trial.

We are all hoping the families get the outcome and justice they need. This isn’t a day for celebration – it is a day to make sure we remember the victims.

This is the moment Southport killer Axel Rudakubana arrived at court this morning before he changed his pleas to guilty on the first day of his trial.

The 18-year-old has been in custody since the murders were carried out on July 29 last year.

The families of the three Southport victims were not at Liverpool Crown Court when Axel Rudakubana changed his pleas to guilty.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Goose said: ‘I am conscious of the fact the families are not here today.’

Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, confirmed the families had not attended as it was assumed the trial would open on Tuesday.

Mr Justice Goose said he extended his apologies to the families that ‘for that reason they weren’t here to hear him enter his pleas’.

She said she would speak to them before the sentence on Thursday.

Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, was due to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court from today charged with 16 offences, including three counts of murder.

He has now admitted the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven,

Axel Rudakubana has also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of eight other children and to the attempted murder of Leanne Lucas and Jonathan Hayes.

Axel Rudakubana has also pleaded guilty to having a kitchen knife in a public place.

He also admitted to the production of a biological toxin, ricin, and possession of a document likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, namely a PDF file titled Military Studies in the Jihad against Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual.

In relation to the 16 charges read out, Rudakubana replied ‘guilty’ to each one.

Here’s our full story on the MailOnline website as Rudakubana entered his guilty pleas at Liverpool Crown Court this morning.

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as Axel Rudakubana pleads guilty to the murder of three young girls in Southport.

The 18-year-old admitted the attack during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on the first day of his trial as he spoke in court for the first time.

Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, was due to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court from today charged with 16 offences, including three counts of murder.

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died following the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at The Hart Space on a small business park in the seaside town shortly before midday on July 29, 2024.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest updates from this developing story.