Families of girls who survived Southport attack warn Government against making empty promises and urge Andy Burnham to implement timeline for urgent change

By LIZ HULL, NORTHERN CORRESPONDENT Published: 16:55, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 16:57, 2 July 2026 Families of girls injured in the Southport attack today warned the Government against making empty promises and demanded Andy Burnham ‘prioritise’ implementing change when he becomes Prime Minister to stop a similar atrocity ever happening again. Relatives of the 22 young survivors, who escaped 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana’s murder spree, spoke out on Thursday after the Government published its response to the findings of the first phase of the public inquiry. In April, chairman Sir Adrian Fulford published his first report into the atrocity, which he described as a 'clearly signposted disaster waiting to happen.’ The 760-page document, which followed 35 days of evidence from survivors, witnesses and experts, at Liverpool Town Hall, was highly critical of several state agencies, including police, social services, mental health teams and youth justice services, who Sir Adrian said ‘fundamentally failed’ to take responsibility for Rudakubana’s case. The murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, who were stabbed to death at the Taylor Swift-themed dance club in the Merseyside seaside town, in July 2024, ‘could and should have been prevented’, Sir Adrian said, if public bodies had taken appropriate steps to stop him. Today Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Downing Street accepted Sir Adrian’s recommendations in full and insisted they would do ‘whatever is needed to protect the public.’ But, speaking on behalf of parents of the 22 girls who survived, lawyer Nicola Ryan-Donnelly said they were ‘yet to see hard evidence of any real change.’ She said families needed ‘firm timelines and detailed plans’ for improvements and urged Mr Burnham to implement them as a ‘priority’ once he was in Number 10. Rudakubana was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum term of 52 years for the murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Stancombe, seven, and Alice Aguiar, nine, who he stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance holiday club. Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were all murdered in the atrocity on July 29, 2024 ‘Our clients are pleased the Government has accepted all the recommendations outlined by the inquiry chair, but the parents of these girls are yet to see hard evidence of any real change,’ Ms Ryan-Donnelly, of Fletchers Solicitors, said. ‘Much of today’s report outlines consultations and desires to amend policies or guidance across multiple agencies, but until the work is done these are just promises. ‘It’s almost two years since the Southport attack devastated this community – but only days ago, another depraved teenager was sentenced for possessing numerous weapons and explosives to carry out a mass killing. ‘The families affected by this tragedy need to see firm timelines and detailed plans around how changes will be implemented, and how their impact will be measured. 'They want to be involved in conversations with these agencies to inform changes. ‘This must not get lost when our new Prime Minister is decided – delivering on these promises must remain a priority for whoever comes into power.’ Ms Mahmood has already pledged to introduce new legislation to outlaw the planning of a non-terrorist mass casualty attack, and Chris Walker, who represents the parents of Bebe, Elsie and Alice, said this commitment was welcome. Chairman Sir Adrian Fulford is overseeing the public inquiry. The first phase, at Liverpool Town Hall, heard evidence from around 90 witnesses, over 35 days and reported in April this year Rudakubana pictured in the distinctive green hoodie he wore on the day of the attack. CCTV cameras caught him outside the Hart Space dance studio, in Southport, shortly before he launched the mass stabbing Subscribe to The Crime Desk to unlock this podcast. Start a 7-day free trial and enjoy ad-free listening, early access to new shows and exclusive bonus episodes But he said ‘important questions remained’ about how accountability for the mistakes of individuals and failings of state organisations could be secured. And Mr Walker repeated the parents' demands for individuals who left Rudakubana free to kill to be disciplined or sacked. ‘Public statements of regret are hollow if there is no individual accountability,’ Mr Walker, director of serious injury at Bond Turner, said. 'Those individuals who failed the most, must lose their jobs. Otherwise, the public will have no confidence that an atrocity like this will be prevented from occurring again.’ Sir Adrian was also critical of Rudakubana’s parents and said that, if they had done 'what they morally ought to have' and reported their youngest son’s suspicious behaviour, he would not have been free on the day of the attack. Mr Walker said the parents of the deceased girls were ‘keen to engage’ with the Government on a ‘parental responsibility law' and to contribute to a review of the ‘duty to warn’ legislation, which they believe should be extended beyond terrorism to include 'known threats involving extreme violence.’ Nicola Brook, who represents the three adult survivors of the attack, said it was crucial the Government addressed the 'black hole in mental health funding as a matter of urgency,' adding that otherwise 'restrictions aimed at preventing similar heinous attacks will only go so far.’ Ms Brook, of Broudie Jackson Canter, also criticised the fact that her clients only found out about the Government's response via the media. ‘This is not the approach of a Government committed to putting the victims first and centring their lived experience in any future policy change,' she added. In his report Sir Adrian said it was ‘frankly depressing’ that no public agency, including Lancashire Police, Lancashire County Council, the Government’s Prevent de-radicalisation programme, and NHS mental health teams, ‘stood up and accepted responsibility’ for Rudakubana’s case. The teenager was ‘passed from one public sector agency to another’ in a ‘merry go round of referrals, assessments, case closures and hand offs,’ he added. ‘I have no doubt that if appropriate procedures had been in place and if sensible steps had been taken by the agencies and AR's (Rudakubana's) parents, this dreadful event would not have happened,’ Sir Adrian concluded. Rudakubana was known to the state from October 2019, when the then 13-year-old made several calls to Childline and admitted taking a kitchen knife into school on 10 occasions because he claimed he was being bullied. Police were called and he was expelled but two months later, he returned, armed with a hockey stick and attacked another pupil, breaking their wrist. He was sent to a special school, who made three referrals to Prevent over concerns about what he was consuming online - he had viewed web pages about school shootings in America, made comments about the conflict between Israel and Palestine and also asked to see an image of a severed head. Rudakubana was also repeatedly referred to mental health teams and family and wellbeing services at the local council. But the Prevent referrals were dismissed because he did not have a fixed ideology and the reclusive teenager was reluctant to engage with officials, who effectively gave up trying to see him. The Home Secretary said the Government ‘owed’ it to the murdered and injured girls to make change and ‘right these wrongs.’ ‘The Southport inquiry identified fundamental failings, across many of our public services, in the years leading up to July 2024,’ Ms Mahmood said.  ‘These devastating failures led to the senseless killing of three young girls and violent attacks on others. ‘My thoughts today are first and foremost with the families and friends of Bebe, Elsie and Alice and all the victims of that awful day. We owe it to them to right these wrongs. ‘For that reason, we have accepted Sir Adrian’s recommendations for central Government in full.  'My department will now drive this work across Government with the urgency it deserves. We will do whatever is needed to protect the public.’ As part of his recommendations, Sir Adrian also said he would be considering what single agency should be established to record, monitor and co-ordinate interventions for such ‘high risk’ children and young people.  Such issues are due to be addressed in phase two of the inquiry, which is set to begin next week. The comments below have been moderated in advance. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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