Keir Starmer announces ‘support package’ for Southport as he visits community for the second time this week
2 August 2024, 18:55
Sir Keir Starmer has announced a “support package” for Southport after visiting the community for the second time this week.
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The PM held a private meeting with community leaders and emergency service staff in the wake of Monday’s stabbing which killed three young girls.
The package is designed to equip local leaders and agencies so that the right support is in place for victims and bereaved families.
Speaking after his meeting with Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and other community leaders, Sir Keir said it had been “truly inspiring to hear of all the ways in which people have come together in the face of such horrors to demonstrate true bravery, resilience and solidarity”.
He added: “As a nation, we stand with those who tragically have lost loved ones in the heinous attack in Southport, which ripped through the very fabric of this community and left us all in shock.
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“I cannot begin to imagine the pain that people are going through right now, but I am determined to make sure that Southport and its leaders have all the support they need to preserve and nurture this strength of community spirit - not just in the immediate aftermath, but also in the years to come.”
The Prime Minister also travelled to Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool, where a number of the victims were treated, to thank staff for their hard work and professionalism as part of his visit.
The measures announced in today’s package included mental health support for those affected, and a programme of events and activities to help “build community cohesion and bolster local resilience.”
Mayor Rotheram thanked the prime minister “personal commitment” to support Southport.
He said: "The horrendous events of Tuesday have caused untold shock and horror across the whole country but has left Southport struggling to come to terms with such a tragedy on its doorstep.
"Once the glare of the national media has moved on, it leaves behind a community that needs to come together and rebuild. This is a tight knit area and we have already seen that inclusivity and community on full display in the town's response to the mindless violence on Tuesday night.
"It will not happen overnight, but we are determined to restore trust, build on that remarkable resilience - and, above all, ensure that Bebe, Elsie and Alice, and the victims and those traumatised, are never forgotten.
"On behalf of the Liverpool City Region, I'd like to thank the Prime Minister for the personal commitment he has given to supporting Southport through this extraordinarily difficult time."
The package will also aim to help support local leaders’ efforts to honour the memory of those brutally killed or injured in Monday’s shocking attack.
This announcement comes just one day after the 17-year-old suspected of carrying out Monday’s attack was named as Axel Rudakubana.
Up until Thursday, the teenager's identity could not be revealed because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances.
Rudakubana, who spent the entire 55 minutes of the hearing covering his whole face, with his grey sweatshirt pulled up to his hairline, and at times rocking back and forth and side to side, will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on October 25.
A provisional trial date, lasting six weeks, was scheduled for January 20, next year.
Judge Menary told the defendant, who did not acknowledge the judge and continued to keep his head down: "You are remanded to youth detention accommodation until these proceedings have been completed.
"That position might change when you achieve your majority in a short while."
The 17-year-old has been charged with the suspected murder of Bebe King, six; Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven; and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine.
