Police 'gagged' by CPS over details of Southport stabbings 'that could have prevented summer riots'

22 January 2025, 09:02

Merseyside Police were allegedly “warned” not to release information about Southport killer Axel Rudakubana until he had been charged.

Police were “gagged” from releasing crucial information about Rudakubana in the wake of an attack on a dance class in Southport that left three young girls dead.

Officers from Merseyside police wanted to release details about the teenager, but were told not to do so by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), sources told the Telegraph.

They were advised not to inform the public about the poison found in Rudakubana’s room or release details on his obsession with violence and terrorism, sources claim.

Some blamed this lack of transparency for the far-right riots that erupted across England in the wake of the massacre.

Read more: Southport killer Axel Rudakubana ‘carried a knife more than ten times and bought blade on Amazon’

Britain faces new terror threat from ‘misfits’ after Southport murders, says PM

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer, the once head of the CPS, said crucial information had to be withheld so as not to collapse Rudakubana’s trial.

Releasing key evidence before a trial takes place can be regarded as contempt and delay or even collapse court proceedings.

Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions, accepted the CPS advised police not to release details about Rudakubana but defended the decision.

However, detectives were reportedly left frustrated they were unable to provide more details to the public.

A source told the Telegraph: “As far as they are concerned the more information that is in the public domain the better as it negates the speculation and conspiracies”.

Sources told the outlet the CPS pressed the force to highlight Rudakubana was Welsh and from a Christian family, despite an al-Qaeda training manual being seized in the days after the stabbings.

Serena Kennedy, the chief constable of Merseyside Police, expressed her frustration at not being able to release more details in the wake of the killings.

Ms Kennedy said: “We have been accused of purposely withholding information, this is absolutely not the case.

“From day one we have been as open as we possibly could and have constantly been in touch with the CPS who have advised us on what information could be released.

“We have wanted to say much more to show we were being open and transparent, but we have been advised throughout that we couldn’t do so as it would risk justice being delivered.”

Despite genuine concerns over prejudicing Rudakubana’s trial, questions continue to be asked as to why crucial details about the case were not released sooner.

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, said: “No one understands better than the Prime Minister the role of the CPS.

“He could have taken charge and given leadership with the truth about Axel Rudakubana but chose not to. He can’t face the truth, but the public can.”

Cooper - A 'total disgrace' that Southport attacker could buy knife off Amazon

In an open letter to the CPS, crime reporters complained about the lack of transparency following the attack.

Chair of the Crime Reporters Association (CRA) Rebecca Camber, who is also crime editor at the Daily Mail, penned: “There has been a worrying pattern whereby forces wanting to provide information to the press have been instructed to stay silent.

“The CRA are concerned that this is undermining efforts to improve police press relations and affecting public confidence and trust in policing and the wider criminal justice system.”

In a statement, Parkinson said: "The position taken by the police and the Government on disclosure of information reflected the advice given by the CPS, which was accepted by them. It is important that it is understood why our advice needed to be given.

"In short, releasing that information earlier would have put the trial at risk. As has now become apparent, until Axel Rudakabana pleaded guilty on Monday to all offences with which he was charged, the CPS had been preparing for a full trial.

"No defence had been served, and so there was the potential that all evidence would be challenged.

"Public reporting of significant information before the conclusion of the trial, including about the actions of Axel Rudakabana on the day and some elements of his past history would have posed a serious risk to the integrity of the trial and risked undermining justice for the victims and their families."

Rudakubana had a PDF file entitled Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual, which led to him being charged with possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism, which he admitted on Monday.

When police searched Rudakubana's home in Banks, Lancashire, after he carried out the Southport murders on July 29, they found knives and poison, as well as images and documents relating to violence, war and genocide on his devices.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she had asked tech companies to remove the material he looked at and also pledged tougher restrictions on the online sale of knives after it emerged Rudakubana bought a blade from Amazon.

The Prime Minister said the teenager represented a new kind of threat, distinct from politically or ideologically motivated terrorism, with "acts of extreme violence perpetrated by loners, misfits, young men in their bedroom, accessing all manner of material online, desperate for notoriety".

At a Downing Street press conference, Sir Keir said: "To face up to this new threat there are also bigger questions.

"Questions such as how we protect our children from the tidal wave of violence freely available online.

"Because you can't tell me that the material this individual viewed before committing these murders should be accessible on mainstream social media platforms.

"That with just a few clicks, people can watch video after horrific video. Videos that in some cases are never taken down.

"No - that cannot be right."