Vera Baird KC, the former victims' commissioner, has warned that families in Southport cannot be certain that officials responsible for 'catastrophic' errors before the murder of three girls are not still making the same mistakes. Baird called for disciplinary action to ensure personal accountability, stating that authorities must not 'shrug it off' with an apology.
A public inquiry into the July 2024 attack, in which Axel Rudakubana killed Bebe King, six, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, concluded on Monday that Britain's multi-agency model had 'completely failed' to prevent the tragedy. Inquiry chair Adrian Fulford condemned an 'inappropriate merry-go-round' of state bodies passing the buck and their 'frankly depressing' refusal to accept responsibility.
Baird emphasised the need to pinpoint those who failed and take disciplinary action, saying: 'This is all pointless if we don't make people accountable for the errors they made. You can't be sure, if you're living in Southport, that the people who made the mistakes won't be making the same mistakes again today.'
Chris Walker, solicitor for the victims' families, said they were 'aghast' at the failings and named five state entities of particular concern: Prevent, Lancashire police, Lancashire social services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Prevent had refused three times to escalate concerns about Rudakubana due to his lack of a coherent ideology.
Patrick Hurley, Labour MP for Southport, said the inquiry findings strengthened calls for a social media ban for under-16s to prevent radicalisation. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced legislation to address attacks without an underlying ideology, while the second phase of the inquiry is due to report in spring 2027.
