Southport knife attack suspect Axel Rudakubana charged with terror offence

A teenager accused of the murder of three schoolgirls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party has been charged with two further offences.

Police have alleged that poison was found at the home of suspect Axel Rudakubana. The 18-year-old was previously charged with the murders of Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, following a mass stabbing on Hart Street on July 29 this year.

Axel Rudakubana, of Lancashire has already been charged with the three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder after the knife attack. He is accused of entering the dance party for children aged between three and 12, armed with a knife before attacking those inside.

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In a press conference this afternoon, Tuesday, October 29, Merseyside Police said the teenager has been additionally charged with production of a biology toxin, namely Ricin, contrary to section one of the Biological Weapons Act 1974, and possession of information, namely a PDF file entitled ‘Military studies in the jihad against the tyrants, the Al-Qaeda training manual’.

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy told the press conference: “The two further offences relate to evidence obtained by Merseyside Police during searches of Axel Rudakubana’s home address as part of a lengthy and complex investigation which has been ongoing since the 29th of July.”

Merseyside’s most senior officer added: “At this time Counter Terrorism Policing has not declared the events of the 29th of July a terrorist incident. I recognise these new charges may lead to speculation. The matter of which Axel Rudakubana has been charged under the Terrorism Act does not require motive to be established.

“For a matter to be declared as a terrorist incident, motivation would need to be established. I would strongly advise anyone against speculating as to the motivation in this case. The criminal proceedings against Axel Rudakubana are alive 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 proceedings. I want to remind everyone that the trial is scheduled for January next year.

“Since the 29th of July, my officers and staff have worked diligently in conjunction with colleagues from Counter Terrorism and they are continuing to assess evidential material which we have recovered to ensure all the evidence is available to the Crown Prosecution Service and the details of the case will come out in court.”

The press conference heard Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via video link tomorrow, Wednesday, October 30. A trial date had previously been set for January 20 next year.

Dr Renu Bindra, a senior medical advisor for the UK Health Security Agency, told the press conference: “Early in August, we were informed by the police that Ricin, a very toxic poison, had been found in the suspect’s home. Following this, our agency’s experts in health and protection and in chemicals, poisons and toxicology immediately undertook a thorough public health risk assessment.

“This was based on the available evidence and information we received from the police, from the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and from the NHS. This information confirmed that there was no evidence that any victims, responders or members of the public were exposed to Ricin, either as part of the incident or afterwards. Our detailed initial risk assessment judged that the risk to the community and to the wider public was low.”

The doctor added: “I would like to emphasise that there has been no evidence of Ricin poisoning in anyone involved in or connected to this incident.” Professor Tim Atkins, from DSTL, confirmed they had provided on the ground support to Merseyside Police and access to various laboratories to help identify the presence of the toxin."

During the press conference Chief Constable Kennedy added: “Today I want to reassure the communities of Southport and Merseyside that we are committed to getting justice for the families of Bebe, Elsie and Alice, the 10 victims who were injured at Hart Street and the other 16 people who were present on that day. We are also committed to being open and transparent with our communities.

“However, I am sure you will appreciate that we also need to make sure that we do not prejudice this trial. You may have seen speculation online that the police are deciding to keep information from the public. This is certainly not the case.

“We have been given extensive guidance by the Crown Prosecution Service and in relation to what we can say publicly to ensure the integrity of the court proceedings are protected. And therefore we are restricted in what we can share with you now the proceedings are live.”

She later added: “My plea is be patient. Don’t engage in rumour and speculation. 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 other families and those victims who were present at Hart Street on the 29th of July. We need to do the right thing to ensure that the justice process is not prejudiced.”