Southport 'killer' is charged with making deadly poison ricin

The suspect in the Southport murders was today charged with making the deadly poison ricin.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, has also been charged with having a study of a terrorist manual after one was found at his home, police said.

The teenager is accused of murdering three young girls - Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine – in a stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in July. He is also accused of ten attempted murders and possession of a knife.

The killings sparked large scale riots, fuelled by misinformation on social media, in towns and cities across the UK.

Today Serena Kennedy, the Chief Constable of Merseyside police, said the Crown Prosecution Service had authorised them to charge Rudakubana with manufacturing the biological toxin ricin and having a study of a terrorist manual – namely Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual.

Ms Kennedy stressed that the risk to the public and emergency services who responded to the attack on July 29 was 'low or very low' and that no one had been contaminated or harmed as a consequence.

She also said that, although Rudakubana has been charged with offences under both the Biological Weapons and Terrorism Act, the incident had not been declared terror-related.

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'At this time counter terror policing have not declared the events of July 29 a terrorist incident,' she said. 'I recognise these new charges may lead to speculation.

'The method by which Axel Rudakubana has been charged under the Terror Act does not require motive to be established.'

She urged people against speculating about Rudakubana's motive online and on social media, adding that the suspect had a 'right to a fair trial.'

Rudakubana is due to enter a plea to the murder and attempted murder charges next month. A previous hearing, at Liverpool Crown Court, heard he has autism.

The three girls had been attending the summer holiday club at the Hart Space Community Centre, in Southport, when they were stabbed on July 29. Eight other children and two adults were also seriously injured.

A sea of teddies, balloons and flowers was left outside Southport Town Hall in tribute to the children in the immediate aftermath. 

The attack and subsequent rioting prompted King Charles to express his 'profound shock' and cut into his holiday to Balmoral, in Scotland, to visit the Merseyside seaside town.

Professor Tim Atkins, from the Government's Defence Science Technology Laboratory, at Porton Down, said 0.5mg of ricin is deadly to humans.

The organisation worked in partnership with Merseyside police once the substance was discovered and quickly confirmed it was the toxin.

He said: 'At all stages of the incident, DSTL have worked closely with Merseyside Police, with the priority that people were kept safe, and to allow the police to respond and investigate as quickly as possible.'

Rudakubana is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court via video link tomorrow.

Ms Kennedy insisted that speculation online that police were 'keeping things from the public' was 'not the case.'

But she said that she was restricted in what she could say because it was vital Rudakubana's right to a fair trial was protected, in order to secure justice for the three girls and the victims who survived. 

She said: 'Following the events of Monday 29 July, searches of Axel Rudakubana's home address resulted in an unknown substance being found – testing confirmed the substance was ricin.

'We have worked extensively with partners to establish that there was a low to very low risk to the public – and I want to make that reassurance clear today. I can also tell you that there was no ricin present at Hart Street.'

She added: 'My plea is to be patient, don't engage in rumour and speculation and don't believe everything you read on social media.

'We must not lose sight of the families of Elsie, Bebe, and Alice, who are still grieving, and the families of those children and adults who were injured and affected by what happened on that day.

'We all need to do the right thing by them to ensure the justice process is not prejudiced.'

Ms Kennedy insisted it was 'certainly not the case' that police were deciding to keep information from the public.

But Tory leadership candidate Robert Jenrick said he was 'seriously concerned that facts may have been withheld from the public here'.

'The Government and authorities told us for months they were not treating this as a terrorist incident,' the former immigration minister said.

'This atrocity was of immense public concern. The public had a right to know the truth straight away.

'Any suggestion of a cover-up will permanently damage public trust in whether we're being told the truth about crime in our country.

'Keir Starmer must urgently explain to the country what he knew about the Southport attack and when he learned it.'

'Across the board the hard reality of mass migration is being covered up. We need the truth - and we need to change.' 

Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents and moved to the Southport area in 2013. He was living in Banks, Lancashire, at the time of the attack.

His rival, Kemi Badenoch, said there are 'serious questions to be asked' of the authorities.

She tweeted: 'After the Southport murders and the ensuing protests and riots, some people asked me why I wasn't commenting. This is why. Too many on all sides rush to conclusions before all the facts are clear.

'As more information emerges, it is quite clear that there are serious questions to be asked of the police, the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] and also of Keir Starmer's response to the whole situation. Parliament is the right place for this to happen.

'While we must abide by the rules of contempt of court and not prejudice this case it is important that there is appropriate scrutiny.'

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, posted a video on X in which he said: 'In the wake of the horrific murder of those three girls in Southport in July of this year, I asked some questions saying "please tell us the truth - stop the online speculation".

'Well it has taken a long time to find out more about the individual. He has now been charged, believe it or not, under the Biological Weapons Act because the police have found Ricin in his home.

'He has been charged under the Terrorism Act, alleged to have downloaded Al-Qaeda terrorist materials.

'But the murder of the girls, and the serious injury of the others, that is still being treated as a non-terror incident because they don't know what the motives were.

'We've also been told this afternoon there are other facts that we don't yet know because the Crown Prosecution Service say they will come out in good time in court and are not to be discussed now.

'So that's alright then? That all makes sense to you, doesn't it? Yes, absolutely.'

Speaking at the press conference, chief constable Serena Kennedy, said: 'I would strongly advise everyone to avoid speculation about the motivation in this case.

The criminal proceedings against Axel Rudakubana are live and he has a right to a fair trial.

'It is extremely important that there is no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online that could prejudice these procedures.'

Downing Street said the Prime Minister's thoughts remain with the families of the Southport attack victims.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: 'The Government is focused on ensuring the families and all those affected receive justice, and first and foremost the Prime Minister's thoughts are with those families and the local community. His thoughts remain firmly with them.'