Keir Starmer today dismissed claims of a Southport 'cover-up' as he insisted there would be a full investigation how the state failed to stop the killer.
The Prime Minister told a Downing Street press conference that people were right to 'demand answers' about 'failures' in the case of Axel Rudakubana.
Sir Keir said it was a “devastating moment in our history” and should be a “line in the sand” for Britain, with “fundamental change” in the way citizens are protected.
He emphasized that research “should not be burdened by cultural sensitivities” and that institutions should not “avoid” their responsibility. Too often the cars were driving around Westminster, he said.
The Prime Minister said that in August he had emphasized that 'justice must be done' and that 'above all, we should not interfere'.
But he rejected accusations of a “cover-up” of terrorist links in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity – which was followed by a wave of riots across the country. He said he could not risk the case collapsing and the 'vile' perpetrator going free.
“That is why the law of this land forbade me or anyone else from disclosing details earlier,” he said.
Sir Keir said he has 'no illusions' that the lack of 'trust' will continue until the state is 'honest' about the problems and 'roots them out'.
Rudakubana yesterday pleaded guilty to murdering three girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July.
It has emerged he was referred to the anti-extremism program Prevent three times over concerns about his fixation with violence.
But despite this and contact with other government agencies, authorities failed to stop the attack which claimed the lives of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
The Prime Minister told a Downing Street press conference that people were right to 'demand answers' over 'failures' in the case of Axel Rudakubana
Sir Keir said it was a 'devastating moment in our history' and should be a 'line in the sand' for Britain, with 'fundamental change' in the way citizens are protected
Merseyside Police today released this mugshot of Axel Rudakubana, 18, from Banks, Lancashire, after he pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to all 16 charges with which he was charged
Sir Keir said: 'No words can even begin to describe the cruelty and horror of this case.
'Every parent in Britain will have had the same thought. It could have been anywhere, it could have been our children, but it was Southport. It was Bebe, six years old. Elsie, seven. Alice, nine.
“In August I said that there is a time for questions, but that justice must be done first, and above all we should not interfere with the work of the police, the prosecutors and the adjudication of that justice. .
“Well, thankfully some measure of justice was served yesterday, but it won't return those girls to their families, and it won't take the trauma away from the lives of those who were injured. same.
“So before I turn to the questions that now need to be answered for the families and the nation, let me first acknowledge their unimaginable grief, because I know the entire country is grieving for them.
'The tragedy of the Southport murders should be a line in the sand for Britain.'
Announcing an investigation last night, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the country needed “independent answers” about Prevent and other agencies' contact with the “extremely violent” Rudakubana and “how he became so dangerous”.
Following Rudakubana's guilty pleas, Sir Keir described the 18-year-old as “vile and sick” and said “serious questions needed to be answered” about 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 quest.'
In addition to the three murders, Rudakubana admitted ten attempted murders, possession of a knife, production of a biological poison, ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to someone committing or preparing terrorist acts.
The terrorism offense relates to a PDF file entitled Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual.
It is believed that he also possessed numerous other documents on violent subjects, including A Concise History of Nazi Germany, The Myth of the Remote-Controlled Car Bomb, and Native American Torture and Cultural Violence.
Sources said the discovered material showed an “obsession with extreme violence,” but there was no evidence he ascribed to any political or religious ideology or “fought for a cause.”
With some opposition figures claiming Rudakubana's contact with authorities has been 'covered up', Sir Keir is likely to face questions about why this information was not published earlier.
Britain's reform leader Nigel Farage insisted he was “right all along” when he claimed in the summer that information had been withheld from the public.
But Ms Cooper said information about Rudakubana's background could not be made public earlier “to avoid jeopardizing the legal proceedings or biasing any possible jury trial, in accordance with the normal rules of the British legal system”.
Questions are also likely to arise about why the charges related to the possession of ricin and Al Qaeda's training manual were not made public three months after the teenager's arrest.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said there are many questions that “remain unanswered about what went wrong”.
Welcoming the announcement of a public inquiry, he said: “We also need to know who in the government knew what and when, as well as why authorities withheld certain information from the public.”
Mr Philp told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'There is a lot you can put into the public domain without affecting the legal proceedings.
'In previous incidents we have seen more information being released and Jonathan Hall drew attention to the risks of not releasing information. This undermines confidence in justice, but also creates a void.
“So I think these are legitimate questions. I think it is important that the investigation looks at these questions, but also at what happened before this horrific incident.”
Asked whether he has confidence in the Prevent counter-terrorism programme, he told Times Radio: 'The Prevent program is a long-term programme. It handles approximately 7,000 referrals per year.
'There was a quite comprehensive review of Prevent by William Shawcross that was published in February last year… So one question I will ask the Government is whether they intend to implement the recommendations in the Shawcross report.
A car burns after overturning during a protest in Middlesbrough on August 4, 2024
Police officers at Rudakubana's home on Old School Close in Banks, Lancashire, last October
At the age of 11, Rudakubana appeared dressed as Doctor Who in a television advert for BBC Children In Need after being recruited through a casting agency, it is understood.
'I think it's just important that the investigation looks into all of this and finds out the truth, both about what happened beforehand, but critically also about the government's response afterwards, and what they knew when and whether they could provide more information should have brought into the public domain.
'It appears they have withheld information about the perpetrator, possibly on advice from the CPS.
'William Shawcross has raised questions about that, saying that if you leave a void, speculation fills it, and William Shawcross is clearly an expert lawyer, and also says that you can say a lot about these incidents in retrospect.
“But in this case, the government clearly did not share any information it had in its possession.”
