A new report from His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services has found that safeguarding of vulnerable young people at risk of online radicalisation has struggled to keep pace with changing threats and increased demand since the Southport attack.
The inspection found that committed counter-terror police officers were struggling with increased demand, placing strain on the safeguarding system. The increased number of referrals received by Prevent, the programme which supports and safeguards people at risk of becoming involved in terrorism, had put pressure on arrangements, which had not kept pace with the changing nature of terrorist threats or growing complexity of terrorism-related vulnerability.
Inspection findings
The inspection followed an investigation commissioned by the home secretary in October 2025 to look at how police forces, counter-terrorism and partner organisations safeguard young and vulnerable people who may be at risk of radicalisation, exploitation or involvement in terrorism.
Inspector of Constabulary Lee Freeman KPM said: "The UK continues to face a persistent terrorist threat with the threat level currently at severe, meaning an attack is highly likely. But the nature of this threat has changed."
"Young and vulnerable people are increasingly being exposed to harmful material online, while the number and complexity of referrals to Prevent have placed the safeguarding system under considerable strain."
"We found some examples of effective practice and dedicated personnel across the system, but organisations are not consistently sharing information or managing risks collectively. These weaknesses create systemic failure across the whole safeguarding process, rather than a failure of any single organisation."
"Safeguarding requires a whole-system approach by policing and partner organisations. Stronger strategic leadership, improved information sharing, earlier intervention and greater accountability are needed to keep vulnerable people and the public safe."
Rise in referrals
The report found the referrals had increased significantly since the Southport stabbings in July 2024, which saw Axel Rudakubana murder three young girls - Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice da Silva Aguiar and Bebe King - and injure a number of others when he attacked a Taylor Swift-themed dance party.
Home Office figures showed the number of cases referred to the programme hit a record high of 8,778 in the year to March 2025, a 27% increase on the previous year. Laurence Taylor, the head of counterterrorism policing, said in November 2025: "We've seen a significant increase in the number of Prevent referrals, particularly since Southport."
Phase one of the Southport Inquiry heard Rudakubana's own referrals to Prevent were closed because he lacked a religious, political, racial or ideological cause. However, the largest number of referrals made in the wake of the attack were for people with "no ideology".
Information sharing failures
Inspectors also found that current arrangements mean that organisations, including counter-terrorism policing and local policing teams, don't manage risk collectively, their accountability is unclear and information isn't exchanged effectively between them.
The findings about ineffective information sharing will be particularly concerning after the Southport Inquiry first phase found Rudakubana's attack "could and should have been prevented", with the chairman's report highlighting critical failures in cross-agency communication was one of the principal causes.
The constabulary inspection report said: "The Southport attack and subsequent public inquiry have shown what happens when the police and partner organisations, such as local authorities, education, health and criminal justice services, don't manage risk effectively."
"We have concluded that stronger strategic leadership, improved information sharing, earlier intervention and greater accountability are needed across policing and safeguarding partners."
Recommendations
Inspectors made 14 recommendations including:
- consolidating strategic leadership and co-ordination arrangements for safeguarding
- making sure there are enough qualified specialist intervention providers to meet demand
- establishing a clear national multi-agency framework for managing people with non-ideological vulnerability to terrorism or violence fixation
- improving information sharing, technology and case management
- developing a workforce training needs analysis, including monitoring training compliance
- CTP improving the quality of its data, so it can confidently analyse safeguarding and vulnerability data to understand what works and where activity could be focussed to achieve better outcomes; and
- making sure relevant personnel understand the Online Safety Act 2023 and the new offences it creates.
