The teenager accused of a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport which left three schoolgirls dead will go on trial in the new year after denying all the charges against him.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, of Banks, Lancashire, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court via video link on Wednesday over the deaths of three young girls who died following the stabbings in Merseyside on 29 July.
Pleas of not guilty were entered on behalf of Rudakubana on 18 Dec after he failed to reply when arraigned at Liverpool Crown Court on three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Rudakubana also failed to speak when charged with possession of a knife, production of biological toxin ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
Last month, Rudakubana faced additional charges related to terrorism, sparking a political row that saw prime minister Sir Keir Starmer accused of overseeing a “cover-up” by Conservative MP Robert Jenrick.
However, the attack has not been formally declared ‘terror-related’, according to Merseyside Police.
Downing Street has insisted the timing of the charging announcement was purely a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Home secretary Yvette Cooper has also urged the public not to speculate on the case in order to ensure the victims’ families get justice.
Bebe King (L), Elsie Dot Stancombe (C) and Alice da Silva Aguiar (R) died after a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport. (PA)
What has Axel Rudakubana been charged with?
Rudakubana is charged with 16 offences in total, including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, who were stabbed during a dance class in Hart Street, Southport, on 29 July.
He is also charged with the attempted murder of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons; instructor Leanne Lucas; and businessman John Hayes.
He is also accused of possession of a knife.
The teenager appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last month over new charges of production of a biological toxin, ricin; and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
The new charges followed searches of his home and related to a PDF file entitled “Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual”.
When is the trial due to start?
Rudakubana has been told his trial will start on 20 January and it is expected to last up to six weeks.
He is due to return to court at least once more, on 12 December, for a further preparatory hearing.
Presiding at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, 13 November, Mr Justice Goose said it was “important the court and the public know what the issues are in this trial and the 12 December hearing will allow that”.
Remanding the 18-year-old in custody, he asked Rudakubana, who had been silent up to this point: “Mr Rudakubana, can you hear me? Just raise your hand if you can hear me.”
The defendant did not respond.
The judge continued: “Well I know you can hear me because the officer behind you said I can be heard. You are next required to attend on December 12. Your trial will be listed for January 20, with a time estimate of four to six weeks. Thank you.”
‘Peddling conspiracy theories’
Last month, prime minister Starmer was forced to urge senior politicians to support the police work on the tragedy rather than undermine it.
Questions were levelled at the government over when senior figures knew that fresh charges would be brought against Rudakubana. During the Tory leadership contest last month, both Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick publicly asked why the information was not released earlier.
People gather to look at floral tributes in Southport in August following the stabbings in Southport. (PA)
Jenrick went so far as suggesting that the state had been “lying” to the public, but Downing Street has strongly denied withholding facts.
Merseyside’s police commissioner Emily Spurrell said that the spread of conspiracy theories had arisen from a crisis of “trust in institutions” in the UK.
She told The Observer: “We are seeing this real crisis with trust in institutions as a whole – policing, healthcare, parliament, the government.
“When you see people peddling conspiracy theories, they hit close enough to home that then people start to buy into it who are genuinely just vulnerable or concerned about what’s going on.“
Spurrell said she “understood” why people are angry but insisted that “investigations take time”.
Jonathan Hall KC, an independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, called for the government and the police to be more open about criminal cases in the wake of the row. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme last month that there are “other voices” on social media that will “try and fill… an information gap”.
He added: “Quite often, there’s a fair amount of information that can be put into the public domain and I think I detect that the police are trying to do that.”
Who is Axel Rudakubana?
Born in Cardiff to parents from Rwanda, Rudakubana and his family moved in 2013 to the quiet Lancashire village of Banks, just outside Southport.
In 2018, Rudakubana appeared in a Doctor Who-themed advert for BBC Children In Need. The now-deleted clip shows him leaving the Tardis wearing a trench coat and tie to look like the show’s former star David Tennant.
The then 11-year-old tells viewers “it’s that time of year again”, before offering advice on how best to raise money.
It is understood he was recruited for the video through a casting agency and had nothing to do with any Children In Need projects.
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