Axel Rudakubana's taxi driver stripped of licence after waiting 50 minutes to call police as killing spree unfolded

The taxi driver who drove Axel Rudakubana to the scene of the Southport massacre has been stripped of his licence.

Gary Poland, 57, took the teenager to the Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29, 2024, where he went on to murder Elsie Dot Stancombe, Bebe King and Alice da Silva Aguiar - and attempted to kill 10 others.

The taxi driver told the Southport Inquiry in September that he drove away from the scene despite seeing children flooding out from the dance studio “like a stampede for their lives” because he thought he heard gunshots.

Mr Poland, then a driver for One Call Taxis, did not call 999 until 50 minutes after hearing screams coming from the Hart Space studio, having picked up another fare and returned home first.

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Mr Poland also told the inquiry, held at Liverpool Town Hall, he had threatened to call the police when Rudakubana ignored his requests to pay his fare, but thought he had gone to get money when he went into the building.

The taxi driver said he “regretted” not staying at the scene to help the children targeted in the mass stabbing.

Sefton Council has confirmed that Mr Poland has since had his licence revoked.

A spokesman said: “This individual no longer holds a taxi driver licence following a review by the local authority.

“A decision was taken that this individual did not meet the appropriate standards set out in Sefton Council’s taxi licensing policy.”

Among the statements in the council's taxi licensing handbook is a call for drivers to dial 999 if they feel a child or young person is in serious danger of immediate harm.

Nicholas Moss KC, counsel to the inquiry, asked the 57-year-old: “Do you accept, as you drove away, children were fleeing alongside your car and you can be seen looking in the rear view camera?”

Mr Poland replied: “That’s correct. I did not know anybody was injured. I did not see anybody injured.”

Lawyers representing the families of the victims welcomed the decision on Thursday, describing it as a “necessary step towards securing individual accountability”.

They said Mr Poland's conduct on that fateful day “fell below the standards the public should expect”.

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In transcripts of the taxi driver's call following the attack shown to the inquiry, he could be heard saying: "I heard these f****** shots and I just f****** shot off.

"Lucky he didn’t f****** shoot me, weren’t it.”

After returning to his home, he finally phoned the police at 12.36pm.

Mr Poland said in a statement: “I should have checked on the welfare of the children and helped.

"I thought there was a gunman shooting at people and I believed this to be the person who I had just been shouting at to pay me a fare and threatened to call the police, so I did believe that I was in danger of being a target.”

The Southport Inquiry chairman, Sir Adrian Fulford, demanded a change in culture in April after uncovering a series of damning failures ahead of the attack.

He said there had been a “fundamental failure” by any organisation to take responsibility for the danger posed by the teenage killer in the years before the mass stabbing.

Sir Adrian set out a total of 67 recommendations based on the findings of the Southport inquiry.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accepted his findings on Thursday, and insisted the Government would “right the wrongs” of the killing spree.

She added: “We will do whatever is needed to protect the public.

"The Southport inquiry identified fundamental failings across many of our public services in the years leading up to July 2024.”

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