The Southport killer had been referred to the anti-radicalisation scheme Prevent several times before he carried out the mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
One year on from the murders of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, The i Paper looks at the Government’s Prevent programme – and what has changed in the months since the fatal attack.
Southport killer slipped through the net
Rudakubana was referred to Prevent by his teachers three times between 2019 and 2021 because of his fixation with US school shootings, terror attacks, and admission he brought a knife to school on 10 occasions to “stab someone”, but each referral was rejected by police.
Separate reviews into the Southport murders found that concerns serious enough to warrant opportunities to escalate Rudakubana’s case to a Channel Panel were missed.
