Tension over when to make details of Southport attack public

Conservatives have called for an upcoming public inquiry into the Southport murders to consider why police, prosecutors and the government did not make more information about the killer public before his trial last summer.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer have both said that the government could not afford to release Axel Radukabana by ignoring the advice, as publishing the information could jeopardize his trial.

But Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philip said misinformation was likely to have led to an “information vacuum” which “provoked” the rioting after the Southport attack.

He asked why the discovery of ricin and a copy of an al-Qaeda training manual in Radukabana’s home could not be disclosed sooner.

Cooper said that the government wanted to make public that Radukabana had been referred to the anti-extremism program Prevent, but could not do so due to legal advice.

Rudacubana was charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder on July 31, shortly after he began the attacks, which killed Babe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancomb, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguirre, nine. It was done.

Within a few days, in early August, authorities searching Rudakubana’s home found Raisin and a file titled “Military Studies in Jihad against Tyrants, Al Qaeda Training Manual”.

The government was given the latest information about the discovery. The BBC has been told that the ricin was in a Tupperware box in his bedroom.

Police rarely provide details of the ongoing investigation, which they describe as “policing purposes”.

In this case, false rumors were spreading online about the killer, including that he had moved to Britain.

Senior officers felt pressure to reassure the public and dispel some of the rumors about the suspect by clarifying that he was indeed British.

But after discovering Ricin and Manuel, they did not immediately make it public.

The investigation continued, with the search taking several weeks due to teams being required to wear hazmat suits and taking breaks every 40 minutes.

As they prepared to announce the outcome of the investigation, senior police officers were frustrated that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was advising them not to make many details public due to false claims online about who He felt they should be made public.

It was not until 29 October 2024 that the killer was charged with biological weapon production and possession of information useful for terrorism.

Sources close to the handling of the case say that police wanted to announce the charges and disclose the discovery of ricin and Manuel 11 days earlier, on October 18, but negotiations between the CPS and the police fell through. There were obstacles to what could be. Said publicly.

One source said the CPS “put a lot of red pen into the statement”.

Rudakubana was eventually charged with two additional crimes on October 29.

At this point, three months after the Southport attacks, police made public for the first time that ricin and manuel had been found.

They were not charged with preparation for terrorist acts, as under existing laws this would involve finding evidence of political motivation or ideology, and none was found.

The prime minister suggested on Tuesday that laws defining terrorism may need to be changed to take into account lone attackers without clear motivation.

Rudakubana has now admitted all charges against him and will be sentenced on Thursday.

The risk of jeopardizing the case usually ends once all charges have been adjudicated, either by a plea, or by a jury reaching a verdict.

Crime reporters attended a police and CPS-led briefing detailing the full case – but on Monday, the CPS again decided the information should not be published, this time until sentencing.

Despite this, both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have given details about the matter in the Commons.

Sir Keir Starmer’s deputy official spokesman told political reporters on Tuesday afternoon that the Prime Minister had “not strayed” into areas related to sentencing.

Yet the CPS insists it needs to protect the sentencing process on Thursday.

Nick Price, CPS director of legal services, said: “The next stage of the process is for the prosecution to present our full case to the court on Thursday – including relevant details of the defendant’s past – so that the judge can consider all the evidence before passing sentence. .

“This will be the point when the full details of this case will be heard by the public.

“We recognize the intense interest in these proceedings, and it is important that the prosecution’s case is presented to the court so that the facts can inform the sentence handed down.”

The CPS has taken this position because it believes that the judge is entitled to make factual findings about the case and must also determine how much weight to give to different aspects of the evidence.

However, the Crime Reporters Association, representing around 50 senior crime and home affairs reporters, has written to the CPS raising concerns that the service is breaching the long-established principle that material about a case should not be published after guilty pleas. There is no legal risk in doing so. Before sentencing.

The CPS said in its response that “the independence of the judge must be respected.”