MoJ responds after reports Southport killer Axel Rudakubana was beaten up in Strangeways prison

The Ministry of Justice has responded following reports Southport killer Axel Rudakubana was beaten up in his cell at Strangeways.

A viral voice note was shared across social media on Sunday (January 26) claiming the murderer - who slaughtered three young girls in an attack on a Taylor Swift-themed class last summer - had been attacked by fellow inmates, but has since been debunked.

The audio recording suggests that two other inmates were allowed into Rudakubana's cell, where they then carried out an attack on the 18-year-old, who was jailed for life on Thursday (January 23), the Mirror reports.

However it is understood Axel Rudakubana is currently being held in a segregation unit at HMP Belmarsh due to fears for his safety among general prison population.

The Ministry of Justice has also confirmed that the claims made in the audio recording are false. It is also unclear whether Rudakubana will remain at HMP Belmarsh in south-east London - a high-security prison designed to house the most dangerous offenders.

The audio recording in question was shared on X by an anti-immigration account. In the clip, a man is heard saying: "Two lads here in for murder doing a 35 [year sentence]. They just got let into that little b*****d's [...]. The child killer's cell. [...] And absolutely smashed him to pieces."

Axel Rudakubana was last week jailed for life, and told he must serve a minimum of 52 years for the killings in July last year, which prompted widespread disorder.

He was also sentenced for the attempted murder of 10 others, possession of a knife in a public place, production of a biological toxin and possession of information, namely a PDF file entitled ‘Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual'.

Rudakubana is currently being assessed by the prison service, which is keeping a close eye on him to decide whether to keep him at Belmarsh or move him elsewhere.

Former prison governor Ian Acheson said: "The threat Rudakubana poses to others is probably unquantifiable. The threat he is subject to will be extremely high. Child killers are at the bottom of the prison hierarchy."