For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
A 17-year-old boy who is charged with the murders of three girls killed in the knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport has been named.
The suspect can be identified as Axel Rudakubana, the Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC ruled at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday afternoon.
The teenager, from Banks in Lancashire, was charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, and possession of a bladed article.
It comes as Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said two children wounded in the mass stabbing have been discharged from hospital.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, were killed in the attack, while eight children and two adults were injured.
Meanwhile, far-right riots erupted across the UK overnight following the violence in Southport on Tuesday night that led to at least five arrests there.
More than 110 people were arrested at the “Enough is Enough” demonstration in London on Wednesday evening, with flares thrown towards Downing Street, officers attacked, and the crowd heard chanting “we want our country back”.
Scenes of unrest also broke out in Hartlepool – where police made several arrests, several officers were injured and a car was set on fire – as well as in Manchester and Aldershot.
Have you been affected by this incident? Email [email protected]
At least a dozen police chiefs arrive for meeting with prime minister
At least a dozen police chiefs have arrived for their meeting with the Prime Minister on Thursday afternoon.
The group entered 10 Downing Street and ignored questions from the gathered media about what they hoped to ask Sir Keir Starmer.
Further police chiefs are expected to arrive before the start of the meeting in at 2.30pm.
Tara Cobham1 August 2024 14:34
Watch: Southport volunteers clean up streets after night of far-right riot
Tara Cobham1 August 2024 14:31
Full story: Identity of Southport stabbing suspect revealed as he appears in court
A 17-year-old boy accused of murdering three children at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport has been named.
The Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC ruled the defendant can be named as Axel Rudakubana during a hearing on Thursday.
The teenager is also charged with ten counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article – described in court as a kitchen knife with a curved blade – following the mass stabbing on Monday.
Barney Davis covers the story from Liverpool Crown Court and Crime Correspondent Amy-Clare Martin reports:
Tara Cobham1 August 2024 14:25
UK must address false information spread by far right on social media, Hartlepool’s MP says
The country needs to have a conversation about false information spread by the far right on social media, Hartlepool’s MP has said.
Jonathan Brash told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “The conversation we need to start having is about the way these far-right groups are disseminating false information on social media.
“Because I see it almost every single day – straight-up lies about these situations designed to cause violence, to incite racial hatred, to incite people to violence.
“We have to deal with that situation because there is so much misinformation and it’s being spread quite deliberately to stoke tension in communities and ultimately it’s the communities that are suffering as a result.”
Tara Cobham1 August 2024 14:17
Violent unrest overnight in Hartlepool ‘doesn’t represent us’, says local MP
Violent unrest overnight in Hartlepool “doesn’t represent us as a town”, the local MP has said.
Suggesting some of those involved in the disorder had come from out of town, Jonathan Brash told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “This has clearly been co-ordinated on social media earlier in the day, so it’s not clear what the mix was in terms of who was there.
“But what’s very, very clear, and I can’t stress this enough, is the behaviour of that small minority of lawless individuals is not in any way, shape or form reflective of Hartlepool, its people, its values, most of whom have been getting in touch with me today to express their absolute disgust at what we saw on the streets last night.
“It doesn’t represent us as a town.”
Tara Cobham1 August 2024 14:16
Sir Keir Starmer will hold press conference after meeting with police chiefs about disorder
Sir Keir Starmer will hold a press conference at approximately 4pm on Thursday following a meeting with senior police chiefs about the disorder seen in parts of England.
The Prime Minister will speak about the gathering with policing leaders and take questions from the media, after scenes of violent unrest in London, Hartlepool and Manchester on Wednesday evening.
Rioters clashed with police in Southport on Tuesday, attacking officers and setting a van on fire, following the fatal stabbing of three children in the Lancashire town on Monday.
A 17-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article, in relation to the attack.
Tara Cobham1 August 2024 14:15
Defendant refuses to speak while silently rocking back and forth in dock
The defendant refused to speak to confirm his name to the judge during the brief hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday afternoon.
Dressed in a grey tracksuit and black slippers he kept his head down and silently rocked back and forth in the dock.
Tara Cobham1 August 2024 14:12
Judge balanced risk to defendant’s family with public interest in naming decision
Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance risk to the defendant’s family and initial risk to him while in custody with the public interest in accurately reporting his identity to quell misinformation fuelling disorder.
He said: “By continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has the disadvantage of allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum and runs the risk that when the information becomes publicly available in six days’ time, that will provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder.
“Allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant.”
Tara Cobham1 August 2024 14:09
Defendant left court building in police convoy to jeers from crowds
The defendant left the court building in a police convoy to jeers from a small crowds that had gathered in the street.
A number of people shouted as the prison van pulled out of the complex, with a number of police vehicles escorting.
More than 30 police officers lined the edges of pavement as the convoy left and others stopped the traffic on the main road past Liverpool’s docks.
Tara Cobham1 August 2024 14:06
In pictures: Police at Axel Rudakubana’s home this week
Tara Cobham1 August 2024 13:44
