Southport inquiry expected to criticise bungling public bodies who failed to stop killer before he murdered three girls

Published: 23:09, 11 April 2026 | Updated: 23:09, 11 April 2026 An inquiry report into the Southport horror killing of three little girls is expected to be highly critical of public services that ignored the threat posed by the murderer. At least six public bodies are expected to be heavily criticised in tomorrow’s report, including two police forces, two NHS mental health services and the local council’s family and social services. Axel Rudakubana’s parents, the X social media company and four retailers who let him buy knives and machetes without properly checking his age also face censure. Rudakubana was 17 when he stabbed to death Bebe King, six, Elsie Stancombe, seven, and Alice Aguiar, nine, at a Taylor Swift dance class on July 29, 2024. He was jailed for life in January last year. The inquiry, chaired by former judge Sir Adrian Fulford, heard he had been involved with public bodies from age 13 and admitted taking a knife into school at least ten times, leading to his permanent exclusion. Joanne Hodson, special educational needs co-ordinator at Acorns pupil referral unit, said she was ‘very concerned’ about him and hoped they were going to get help but one by one the agencies ‘peeled away.' By the time of the killings, he had not been seen by family or mental health services for months after each abandoned attempts to see him. No consideration was given to a child protection order which could have removed him from the family home, despite evidence his parents could not cope with his violence. Axel Rudakubana stabbed Bebe King (left), Elsie Stancombe (centre) and Alice Aguiar (right) to death at a Taylor Swift dance class in 2024 An inquiry report into the Southport horror killing is expected to be highly critical of public services that ignored the threat posed by Rudakubana (pictured) Police on Hart Street, Southport where Rudakubana was detained and a knife seized His school made three referrals to the Prevent deradicalisation programme but each was dismissed. Just before he left his house to attack the girls, Rudakubana, from a Christian family, went on X to view a video of a knife attack on a bishop in Australia by a 15-year-old teenager. On the day of the attack, his father heard him leave the house in Banks, near Southport. He sobbed as he told the inquiry: ‘I was just clinging to the hope that he’s going for a walk.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. 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? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.