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Country stands with families of Southport victims, Prime Minister says
Country stands with families of Southport victims, Prime Minister says

Yahoo

time21 hours ago

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Country stands with families of Southport victims, Prime Minister says

The country will come together to show 'sorrow and solidarity' a year after the Southport attack, the Prime Minister has said. Three-minutes silence will be held in the Merseyside town at 3pm on Tuesday to mark a year since Axel Rudakubana launched his attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class and murdered Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven. In the days following the attack, during which he also attempted to kill eight other children and two adults, violent disorder broke out in the seaside town and across the country. Writing on X on Tuesday morning, Sir Keir Starmer said: 'One year on, the whole nation stands with the families of Bebe, Alice and Elsie. 'We stand together in grief, in honour of the memory of those wonderful children, and in admiration of the families who have shown strength beyond words. 'We stand with all the children and adults who still bear the physical and mental scars of that day – and in awe of those who risked their lives to help. 'And we stand with the people of Southport, who have shown Britain the meaning of community. 'The nation wants to put its arms around you all. We will come together today to show our sorrow and solidarity. But also to show our determination to uphold the true legacy of Bebe, Alice and Elsie – one of joy, kindness and love.' Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the lives of the 'three innocent young girls' were 'extinguished in an act of pure evil'. In a post on X, she said: 'We honour the memories of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar. 'Their families, and those that survived, carry unimaginable grief and trauma. 'We owe it to them, the people of Southport and communities across the country to demand justice and learn the painful lessons of state failure to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.' People have been asked not to leave flowers at the scene or at the schools the girls attended as the town continues to rebuild after the tragedy. Deputy leader of Sefton Council Paulette Lappin said the community was looking to move forward in a positive way. She told the PA news agency: 'It still remains beyond belief, even though I know it to be true, and so it's just very sad. 'From sadness, we hope to bring goodness and that's all we can do.' The area outside Southport Town Hall, where hundreds laid floral tributes and a vigil was held last year, is due to be transformed into legacy gardens, in memory of those who lost their lives. Ms Lappin said: 'It will be designed for the enjoyment and the fun of children, so that all children can come and they can all play in here. 'That's what we have to remember, that it is an absolutely terrible tragedy, but we cannot allow evil to define us.' A new playground is also being built at Churchtown Primary School, in memory of Alice and Bebe, who were both pupils. Members of the public are being asked to consider making donations to local causes – including funds set up in the names of the victims of the attack and the Southport Strong Together Appeal, which was established last year to support those affected. No large vigil will be held but churches and community centres will be open for those looking for support or space for quiet reflection. Ms Lappin said plans for the day were guided by the families, who had their 'thoughts, compassion and incredible respect'.

One year on, this is how the Southport attack has changed Britain
One year on, this is how the Southport attack has changed Britain

Telegraph

timea day ago

  • Telegraph

One year on, this is how the Southport attack has changed Britain

A year ago today, 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana walked into the Hart Space dance studio in Meols Cop, Southport, where 26 children were midway through a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. In a 12-minute knife rampage, Rudakubana murdered three girls, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and attempted to murder many others. In January, Rudakubana was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 52 years. While the survivors and the families of the victims try to rebuild their lives, 12 months on from Rudakubana's attack, its effects continue to reverberate around Britain. The days after the attack provided a second tragedy. Initially, police stated only that a man 'born in Cardiff' had been arrested. As false rumours that the killer was in fact a Muslim asylum seeker spread quickly online, a wave of public disorder was unleashed in Southport and beyond. Emotions stirred up by the nature of the killings combined with online misinformation and a lack of clarity from authorities to provoke widespread rioting. This was not just in Southport, where 50 police officers were injured, but all over the country: London, Belfast, Burnley. A judge eventually named Rudakubana, the Cardiff-born son of Rwandan immigrants, who had moved to the UK in 2002, but the fuse had been lit. In Tamworth, rioters attacked police and attempted to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers. Filipino nurses were attacked in Sunderland. In Stoke-on-Trent, 94 people were arrested. In total, more than 1,800 were arrested, many sentenced summarily as Keir Starmer sought to restore the impression of order. In January, Andrew McIntyre was jailed for seven and a half years for using an account called 'Southport Wake Up' to encourage disorder around July 30. The Southport attack was a crime of such enormity, and the scale of fallout so large, that it has had ramifications far beyond the immediate victims and surrounding area. Policing, sentencing guidelines, immigration, knife laws, free speech, the right to protest: all have been in the spotlight since last July. Ministers promised that things would change. In January, when the Home Office announced a public inquiry into the killings, the prime minister said that Southport must be a 'line in the sand'. Six months on from that statement, it has not proved so. Fractures exposed by Southport and its aftermath are far from healed. Recent protests outside an asylum hotel in Epping Forest and a supposed asylum hotel in Canary Wharf are obvious examples of stories that can be traced directly back to Southport. But the attack's macabre echoes can be heard whenever an online rumour spreads before authorities can react, or someone is arrested for a social media post, or a peaceful protest threatens to spill over into something more sinister. A town changed for ever In Southport, reaction to the attack was grief and fury. Thousands of locals held a vigil, laying flowers and clutching pink ribbons. As the outpouring gave way to rage, the recently elected Labour MP for Southport, Patrick Hurley, told journalists the town was 'united to say the atrocity on Monday, which is the worst in living memory in the town, and also the riots on Tuesday night, are not the Southport we know and love'. The mosque still has shutters over its windows. Child-focused businesses report lower levels of trade. In the aftermath of the attacks, many other youth clubs and classes reviewed their safety procedures, some cancelling them altogether. But in other ways the town is slowly putting itself back together. In an interview earlier this year, Marion Atkinson, the Sefton council leader, said Southport would 'not let one person's actions break us apart'. A new £10m garden is being built in the centre of town, a 'legacy' rather than a memorial. 'I don't think we can move on from what happens,' she tells The Telegraph. 'Moving forward, is how I would say things are going. Our community's response was bravery, compassion, solidarity, and we keep that in our hearts as we go forward. People are still grieving; the most important thing is to remain as supportive as we can.' The victims' families, supported by Sefton council, asked that there be no large-scale vigils or flower-laying to mark the anniversary. 'This period is incredibly hard for the families of Alice, Bebe and Elsie and all of those children and adults injured or who suffered lifelong psychological impact of witnessing the attack, and we acknowledge the huge impact on their lives too,' it said in an open letter. Instead it urged people to donate to local causes. 'While it showed the worst, it also showed the best of us, and it definitely grew our community together,' says Atkinson. 'We have to keep on looking after each other.' More calls for knife control Rudakubana used a knife he had bought on Amazon when he was 17, despite it being illegal to sell knives to under-18s. In September 2024, six weeks after the killings, Starmer and Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, launched the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime, with the actor Idris Elba as its figurehead. So-called zombie knives, which are serrated to make wounds more difficult to treat, were banned on September 24. Ninja swords will be banned this Friday, August 1. Announcing a new Crime and Policing Bill earlier this year, Starmer said that it 'remains shockingly easy for our children to get their hands on deadly knives', adding that 'the lessons of [the Southport] case could not be clearer'. Patrick Green, the chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust, a knife crime charity, says: 'One of the issues Southport raises is how easy it was for the perpetrator to get hold of knives. It's deeply concerning because we know it's not an isolated incident. Recent legislation is a step in the right direction but much more needs to be done. It has never been easier for an under-18 to buy a knife than it is at the moment.' The legislation includes measures to raise the maximum sentence for selling knives to children from six months to two years, and make tech executives personally liable if illegal weapons were listed on their site. Those trying to buy knives online would be required to submit two types of identification. While the law restricts ninja swords and zombie knives, however, would-be attackers can still easily get hold of kitchen knives. In May, Leanne Lucas, a dance teacher who survived the attack, launched Let's Be Blunt, a campaign to have pointed tips on kitchen knives replaced by blunt ones. 'As a consumer you have a choice,' Green says. 'You don't have to buy a pointed knife. Our kitchens are an armoury. Rounded knives perform the kitchen function as well if not better than a pointed knife. As consumers we all have a part to play.' The implications for free speech In the months after the attacks, police forces around the country clamped down on online speech. Southport did not begin the trend for policing social media, but it accelerated it. The most famous case was that of Lucy Connolly. In July 2024, during the frenzy of online speculation about the identity of the attacker, in which it was thought it might be an illegal immigrant, Connolly, then a 41-year-old childminder from Northampton, wrote a 51-word post on X: 'Mass deportation now. Set fire to all the f---ing hotels full of the bastards for all I care. While you're at it, take the treacherous government and politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it.' She deleted the post less than four hours later, but by then, it had been seen more than 310,000 times. In October, Connolly was given a 31-month jail sentence after admitting inciting racial hatred. Her case has become a flashpoint for conversations about free speech in the UK. Stephen O'Grady, an officer with the Free Speech Union, said the case was 'emblematic of wider concerns' with regard to police interest in online activity. Police make an average of around 30 arrests per day for online posts. In November 2024, Essex Police visited Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson's home over a post on X about the Israel-Hamas war which incited racial hatred. Coming in and around a United States presidential election in which freedom of speech was a contested topic, particularly by Elon Musk, such cases were used as evidence that the UK – and Europe – was far behind the US on free speech. JD Vance, Donald Trump's vice-president, has repeatedly attacked Europe for its limitations on freedom of speech. In a scathing speech to the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance made reference to the case of Adam Smith-Connor, who was jailed for praying outside an abortion clinic, and argued that 'the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular' were under threat. In May, Trump said he was 'monitoring' the Connolly case. As high-profile police investigations into the music acts Kneecap and Bob Vylan have shown, it is not only during riots that police are using their new powers, but day-to-day. This week, it was reported that the police are planning to set up a new elite unit, the National Internet Intelligence Investigations team, to help police online posts. The unit, proposed in a letter to MPs by the policing minister, Diana Johnson, as part of the response to Southport, would offer 'enhanced capacity to monitor and respond to social media at the national level'. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said the proposal was 'sinister, dangerous and must be fought', and that it was 'the beginning of the state controlling free speech'. Public protests tipping into riots The eruption of public violence in late July and early August last year saw the most damaging public protests since the riots of 2011. They showed how difficult it can be for the authorities, bound by restrictions on what can and can't be said, to keep pace in the internet era, when a lie can travel the world in seconds. The police were not legally allowed to name Rudakubana, as he was under 18. A local parent, Eddie Murray, posted on LinkedIn claiming a 'migrant' was responsible for the attack, which was quickly reshared by prominent Right-wing accounts. To try to quell the violence, by August 1, a judge had removed the reporting restrictions, arguing that the 'idiotic rioting' made it in the public interest for the killer to be named. Dame Melanie Dawes, the Ofcom chief executive, wrote: 'Posts about the Southport incident and subsequent events from high-profile accounts reached millions of users, demonstrating the role that virality and algorithmic recommendations can play in driving divisive narratives in a crisis period.' Unlike other comparable protests, the riots after Southport were not organised by one group but rather by the coming together of many different groups, fuelled by misinformation. They led to counterprotests, too, by anti-racist groups. In a recent paper, John Drury, a professor of social psychology at the University of Sussex, argued that the Southport protests had more in common with the 'race' riots in Notting Hill and Nottingham in 1958 than with the riots of 2011. Rather than protests by minorities against authority, the protests in response to Southport were more like 'some kind of direct action' and were more attacks than traditional protests. The recent charged protests in Epping Forest and Canary Wharf follow the example of Southport: information spreads online, harnessed by disparate Right-wing groups, who descend on the target location. There, they are often met by counterprotesters. Georgina Laming, the campaigns and communications director of Hope not Hate, believes the far Right has been emboldened by the killings and their violent aftermath. 'Those more extreme protests have emboldened people to share more racist views than they would have before,' she says. 'It has had a knock-on effect of more persistent everyday racism. I don't think we are prepared for another set of riots. It's essential the police and Government learn the lessons.' Policing under renewed scrutiny One of the most shocking revelations in the case was that Rudakubana's teachers had warned the Prevent counterterrorism scheme three times that he was obsessed with violence. On each occasion, his case was closed because he did not have a terrorist motive. In a major review of Prevent released earlier this month, Lord David Anderson KC argued that it could have intervened and possibly stopped Rudakubana before he had become violent. 'It's a failure of the system,' Lord Anderson said, adding that 'it has to be made clear that these so-called violence-fascinated individuals do fall within its scope'. In January, Yvette Cooper argued that Southport had been failed by the police, the courts and Prevent. Widespread changes to Prevent have been announced, including new referral thresholds, improved training and an independent commissioner to act better on warning signs. The Government has also re-prioritised community-based policing and services as a counterbalance to online misinformation. In January, the Government announced another £200m for local policing. A report about the attacks by Cetas, the Centre for Emerging Technology and Security, said that because trust in official sources was so low, unofficial sources could help dispel false narratives. 'There are quite low levels of trust and confidence in government and law enforcement,' said Sam Stockwell, a co-author of the study. 'So if you can get non-government-affiliated sources sharing the same kind of information and facts, you are more likely to be able to resonate and engage with wider audiences.' Concerns about knife crime, free speech, immigration, protest and children's safety did not begin with Southport. The attack was so terrible that it exposed cracks that were already growing. Arguably no other single crime in recent memory has had such a disastrous effect on public order. The chaos after the attack gave politicians, such as Nigel Farage, space to make political hay with Southport. Ultimately, Southport undermined faith in the authorities and became a rallying cry for the far Right. For them, Southport was evidence of the need for tougher policing and sentencing. Despite Rudakubana being born in the UK, it also became a flashpoint for concerns about migration. For those on the Left, the response to Southport was evidence of far-Right opportunism in using a tragedy to advance its arguments, on immigration, for example, regardless of the truth of the events. The murders may have united Southport in grief and solidarity, but it is far from clear that it has had such a potent effect on the country at large. A year on, the long-term effects of Southport are only just becoming clear.

Southport MP says city won't be defined by atrocity one year on from attack
Southport MP says city won't be defined by atrocity one year on from attack

The Guardian

timea day ago

  • Politics
  • The Guardian

Southport MP says city won't be defined by atrocity one year on from attack

Southport must not be defined by the atrocity at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club last summer, its leaders have said, a year on from the murders. The Merseyside town will hold a three-minute silence and lower flags on public buildings on Tuesday in tribute to those caught up in the attack on 29 July last year. Families of the victims have requested that there are no vigils or large public gatherings and that flowers are not left at schools or the scene of the killings. In line with the wishes of those affected, public bodies are not describing the day as an anniversary. The families of the three girls murdered – six-year-old Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine – asked for privacy to deal with an 'extremely painful and personal time'. Patrick Hurley, the Southport MP, said it would be a 'really emotional day' for the seaside town, which was bearing the 'long-lasting detrimental psychological and emotional impact' of the attack. 'We know that what happened in July last year is always going to be a part of the town's history but there's so much more to Southport than that,' he said. 'It's a day to remember the girls who were killed and it's a day to remember the response of the community when everybody came out and supported everybody else … [it was] just an overwhelming tidal wave of love given to the people of the town.' Police intelligence officers are monitoring social media for attempts to stir up disorder in and around Southport this week, fearing a repeat of the anti-immigrant riots that spread across England after the stabbings last summer. Concerns that agitators might latch on to the Southport commemoration have heightened after the unrest in the Essex town of Epping last week, with other protests at the weekend in Leeds, Norwich and Nottinghamshire. Hurley said: 'The only thing we want people to travel to Southport for is to enjoy the prom, have a fish and chip supper and some ice-cream down on Lord Street. Spend some money in Southport, but if you come in to cause trouble, we don't want you.' The Labour MP, who was elected 25 days before the atrocity, said there would be other 'flashpoints' in the coming months as a public inquiry investigates the 'wholesale failure' to prevent the attack. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Sir Adrian Fulford, the chair of the inquiry, said the murders appeared 'far from being an unforeseeable catastrophic event', given the 17-year-old killer Axel Rudakubana's well-known obsession with extreme violence. Marion Atkinson, the Labour leader of Sefton council, said those affected by the attack wanted to ensure that Southport – a town heavily reliant on summer tourism – does not suffer as a result. 'There's always going to be a memory of what happened but we can't let this define us,' she said. Southport's town hall gardens, where hundreds of people gathered for a vigil a day after the attack, are to undergo a £10m revamp in memory of Bebe, Elsie and Alice. Their families said they hoped the new square and community space, which is due to open in 2027, would 'become a legacy inspired by our three beautiful and amazing girls' and act as a 'thank you' to the town. Phil Porter, the chief executive of Sefton council, added: 'We want to be defined by our response to it rather than what happened to us, which was horrific, [and] the racist violence on the second day were things that happened to us. We want to be defined by our response to that rather than defined by what happened.'

Evil will not define Southport a year on from attack, deputy council leader says
Evil will not define Southport a year on from attack, deputy council leader says

The Independent

timea day ago

  • The Independent

Evil will not define Southport a year on from attack, deputy council leader says

The people of Southport will not 'allow evil to define' them, a year on from a knife attack on a children's dance class. Tuesday marks one year since Axel Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time, entered the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Hart Street and fatally injured Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven. In the days following the attack, during which he also attempted to kill eight other children and two adults, violent disorder broke out in the seaside town and across the country. Deputy leader of Sefton Council Paulette Lappin said now the community was looking to move forward in a positive way. She told the PA news agency: 'It still remains beyond belief, even though I know it to be true, and so it's just very sad. 'From sadness, we hope to bring goodness and that's all we can do.' This summer the area outside Southport Town Hall, where hundreds laid floral tributes and a vigil was held last year, is again filled with colourful flowers. The flowers are now in planters which have been put in place ahead of its transformation into legacy gardens, in memory of those who lost their lives in the attack. Councillor Lappin said: 'It will be designed for the enjoyment and the fun of children, so that all children can come and they can all play in here. 'That's what we have to remember, that it is an absolutely terrible tragedy, but we cannot allow evil to define us.' A new playground is also being built at Churchtown Primary School, in memory of Alice and Bebe, who were both pupils. On the anniversary, members of the public are being asked not to lay flowers but to consider making donations to local causes – including funds set up in the names of the victims of the attack and the Southport Strong Together Appeal, which was established last year to support those affected. No large vigil will be held, but a three-minute silence will be observed at 3pm and churches and community centres will be open for those looking for support or space for quiet reflection. Cllr Lappin said plans for the day were guided by the families, who had their 'thoughts, compassion and incredible respect'. Last summer, a recovery fund was set up to help businesses affected by the attack and to support families. Cllr Lappin said the council had worked with the voluntary sector, specialists involved in trauma, community and faith groups and the emergency services over the past year. 'We hope that this is a holistic approach of listening to everybody with respect and dignity so that we can actually move forward together as much as we possibly can,' she said. 'This work is ongoing. It will continue.'

Evil will not define Southport a year on from attack, deputy council leader says
Evil will not define Southport a year on from attack, deputy council leader says

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Yahoo

Evil will not define Southport a year on from attack, deputy council leader says

The people of Southport will not 'allow evil to define' them, a year on from a knife attack on a children's dance class. Tuesday marks one year since Axel Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time, entered the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Hart Street and fatally injured Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven. In the days following the attack, during which he also attempted to kill eight other children and two adults, violent disorder broke out in the seaside town and across the country. Deputy leader of Sefton Council Paulette Lappin said now the community was looking to move forward in a positive way. She told the PA news agency: 'It still remains beyond belief, even though I know it to be true, and so it's just very sad. 'From sadness, we hope to bring goodness and that's all we can do.' This summer the area outside Southport Town Hall, where hundreds laid floral tributes and a vigil was held last year, is again filled with colourful flowers. The flowers are now in planters which have been put in place ahead of its transformation into legacy gardens, in memory of those who lost their lives in the attack. Councillor Lappin said: 'It will be designed for the enjoyment and the fun of children, so that all children can come and they can all play in here. 'That's what we have to remember, that it is an absolutely terrible tragedy, but we cannot allow evil to define us.' A new playground is also being built at Churchtown Primary School, in memory of Alice and Bebe, who were both pupils. On the anniversary, members of the public are being asked not to lay flowers but to consider making donations to local causes – including funds set up in the names of the victims of the attack and the Southport Strong Together Appeal, which was established last year to support those affected. No large vigil will be held, but a three-minute silence will be observed at 3pm and churches and community centres will be open for those looking for support or space for quiet reflection. Cllr Lappin said plans for the day were guided by the families, who had their 'thoughts, compassion and incredible respect'. Last summer, a recovery fund was set up to help businesses affected by the attack and to support families. Cllr Lappin said the council had worked with the voluntary sector, specialists involved in trauma, community and faith groups and the emergency services over the past year. 'We hope that this is a holistic approach of listening to everybody with respect and dignity so that we can actually move forward together as much as we possibly can,' she said. 'This work is ongoing. It will continue.'

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