Chief Constable 'wanted to say more' about Axel Rudakubana after he was arrested
Merseyside Police's Chief Constable said she would have liked to have said more about Axel Rudakubana's past but was "constrained" by factors including discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Merseyside's top officer Serena Kennedy called the investigation into Rudakubana's sickening mass attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party "the most harrowing, large investigation the force has ever dealt with".
Rudakubana was just 17 when he murdered Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar and attempted to murder 10 others, eight of them children. Rudakubana was absent from the courtroom due to his "cowardly" and disruptive behaviour as he was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years behind bars yesterday afternoon (January 23).
Rudakubana was arrested at the scene of the stabbing, The Hart Space in Southport, and has remained in custody since July 29. Following his conviction on Monday this week, the ECHO could finally report the previous contact the Counter Terrorism-led Prevent scheme, two police forces and various children's services had with the teenager in the years before he carried out his attack.
READ MORE: Axel Rudakubana: From an unknown ‘choir boy’ who wouldn’t leave the house to an evil child killer
READ MORE: Axel Rudakubana will serve at least 52 years behind bars for Southport stabbings
Merseyside Police has come under criticism for its release of information regarding Rudakubana - particularly in respect of his background and what was known about his past. Further questions were also asked about why Rudakubana was charged with a terrorism offence and production of a biological toxin months after his initial arrest. Critics of the Merseyside Police have said the lack of information released by the force created a void which was filled with social media misinformation and disinformation that in part led to a series of riots both in the region and around the UK.
Following Rudakubana's sentencing, Chief Constable Kennedy spoke to the ECHO and Press Association regarding Merseyside Police's release of information. When asked if in hindsight the force should have given more information about what happened and who Rudakubana was, she said: "I genuinely don't think we could have said any more because of the constraints that we were under.
"This was a child that was in custody, which obviously dictates the amount of what information that we can share, and also he was subject of criminal proceedings. There was constant dialogue between ourselves and the Crown Prosecution Service about what we could say.
"But, I also do recognise the disorder that was taking place initially on the streets of Southport, but also which then spread across the country, and that need to try and dispel some of that disinformation and that misinformation, which is why, on Monday July 29 when there was rumours circulating, there was a name released and circulating on social media, we went out straight away and said that was incorrect.
"In that briefing, on the Monday night, I gave information that the suspect was originally from Cardiff. At that time, it wasn't confirmed whether he was born in Cardiff or not. As soon as we got that confirmation, we released that information that he had been born in Cardiff because I wanted to do as much as possible, within the limitations of the framework that I was working to, to try and reassure the communities and try to dispel some of that disinformation and misinformation."
Chief Constable Kennedy said her force had repeatedly taken advice from the CPS and various other partner agencies. When asked if she was frustrated with advice that prevented her from being able to give more information, the Chief Constable added: "I think my position was that I wanted to be as open and transparent with our communities as possible to try and provide that reassurance.
"However, I go back to my primary concern was to make sure that we got justice for those three little girls and those little girls and adults who were injured and traumatised by those events. The criminal justice process has to be our number one priority in all of this...I would like to have said more around demonstrating that openness and transparency, but I was constrained by what the Crown Prosecution Service were advising me on as well."
Both Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the once head of the CPS, and chief crown prosecutor Sarah Hammond said the priority was to deliver justice for the victims and ensure there was "no prejudice to the trial". Speaking to the ECHO this week, Ms Hammond added any information that could be released "had to be looked at through that lens".
When asked if there was a worry that the perceived lack of information about the case could affect public trust in the future, Chief Constable Kennedy said: "Yes, there's a narrative out there, around the impact of trust between policing, between criminal justice partners with the communities. The Law Commission has commissioned a review of contempt of court legislation.
"And I think that's right. I think this case demonstrates why that review and commission is required. And obviously members of the public have been called to add into that review. So I am concerned about it, but hopefully we've demonstrated now why we've been unable to say anything further."
However, the Chief Constable said she "absolutely understood" why the public were shocked by the contact Rudakubana had with the state throughout his teenage years - and added: "I can reassure the communities of Merseyside that we will engage fully with that public inquiry." She told the ECHO: "They will absolutely see a duty of candour from us to make sure that we contribute to that public inquiry."
Chief Constable Kennedy also called for social media companies to take more responsibility when it came to the spread of misinformation and disinformation in the wake of the attack. She said: "They knew what impact it was having on the streets of Great Britain. They could have supported and worked with us to take those messages down. And I absolutely think there needs to be more work on that in the future."
The CPS' Ms Hammond also addressed a number of questions regarding the Rudakubana case and presentation of information. When asked if she agreed that the 44-year-old contempt of court law, in place to ensure someone doesn't unfairly influence a trial, needed to be revised for the social media age, she told the ECHO: "I think because of the unusual nature of this case, the complexities, the sensitivities, I can completely understand why people are asking that question, and I think that's something the public inquiry could look into."
Ms Hammond called the case "unprecedented" and the most harrowing she had ever seen due to the "indiscriminate nature of the violence, the seriousness of the injuries that were caused and the scale of the impact". The mass stabbing was never prosecuted as an act of terrorism, due to the fact it didn't meet the definition threshold.
When asked why, Ms Hammond said: "The definition of terrorism is contained in the Terrorism Act and there are three parts to that. So firstly, there has to be an act of serious violence, which has happened here. That act has caused terror, effectively to the public, or a section of the public. Both of those have happened in this particular case.
"The third element that has to be proved under the Terrorism Act is that those acts were done with the intention of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause, and despite the very extensive investigation that Merseyside Police has carried out, which uncovered quite a wide range of material that covered an interest in war, in genocide, in mass murders. There was no evidence that the defendant ascribed to a specific ideology."
Ms Hammond also gave the first definitive explanation as to why there was such a delay between the finding of ricin and charging him with the offence nearly three months later. She said: "As a prosecutor, in order to put a case before the court, we have to have that material in an evidential format. So whilst there was no indication that ricin had been discovered, it had to be tested.
"We had to have a specific statement from an expert to confirm what it was, and we didn't receive that until towards the end of September. We then have to interview a defendant when further charges are being considered, which also happened at the end of September. We then had to review all the evidence that we had.
"We had to consider what charges should be laid. There's also some internal processes that we have to follow. One of the offences needed consent from the law officers. So there are some internal CPS processes that we have to do. So that was where we couldn't announce the charges back in August, because we have that legal process to follow."
Rudakubana, who refused to comply with the court proceedings by interrupting both the judge and prosecution during his sentencing, will be at least 69 before he is released. However, Mr Justice Goose told the court it was highly unlikely that he would never be released.