Southport child-killer Axel Rudakubana pleads guilty on first day of trial

The 18-year-old accused of killing three girls at a dance class in Southport has admitted the attack on the first day of his trial.

Axel Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, was to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, charged with 16 offences, including three counts of murder.

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died following the attack at the Taylor Swift-themed class in The Hart Space on a small business park in the seaside town shortly before midday on July 29.

The defendant, who was 17 at the time of the attack, admitted their murders as well as the attempted murders of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

Mr Justice Goose said Rudakubana will be sentenced on Thursday.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of a knife.

Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff, also admitted production of a biological toxin, ricin, on or before July 29 and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

The terrorism offence relates to a PDF file entitled Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual which he is said to have possessed between August 29 2021 and July 30 2024.

The ricin, a deadly poison, and the document were found during searches of the home in Old School Close which he shared with his parents, who are originally from Rwanda.

The attack in Southport has not been declared a terrorist incident despite the discovery of the document, Merseyside Police said last year.

Rudakubana was arrested on the day of the attack and charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of a knife later that week.

He was charged with production of ricin and the terror offence three months later, although the items were found in searches carried out by police in the days after his arrest.

Unrest erupted across the country in the wake of the Southport attack, with mosques and hotels used for asylum seekers among the locations targeted.

In the hours after the stabbing, information spread online which claimed the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a small boat.

The day after the attack, thousands turned out for a peaceful vigil in Southport, but later, a separate protest outside a mosque in the town became violent, with missiles thrown at police and vans set on fire.

More than 1,000 arrests linked to disorder across the country have since been made, and hundreds have been charged and jailed.

During the hearing on Monday, Stan Reiz, defending, told the judge: “I am instructed for the indictment to be put again.”

Rudakubana remained seated in the dock as he entered guilty pleas.

The defendant, who had an intermediary with him in the dock, wore a grey tracksuit and a surgical mask.

He did not stand when asked to by the court clerk and judge after entering court and did not reply when he was asked to confirm his name.

The clerk then began reading each of the 16 counts of the indictment, with the defendant replying with the single word “Guilty” each time and the clerk repeating back “You wish to change your plea to guilty”.