Just before the second anniversary of his horrific murders, it has emerged that Southport killer Axel Rudakabana has been transferred from Belmarsh prison to Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital. Although this does not change the fact that he is serving a prison sentence, Broadmoor is a more comfortable and safer environment than a jail like Belmarsh. It’s also far more expensive. Instead of the approximately £100,000 per year Rudakubana cost us as a prisoner, he will now cost over £300,000 per year. He will remain in Broadmoor until psychiatrists decide he’s well enough to return to prison. Rudakubana has previously been described by a senior mental health clinician as having a ‘lack of empathy’ and a ‘fascination with violence’.
Under the Mental Health Act, if clinical and medical practitioners recommend a prisoner is moved to a secure hospital, the prison service is effectively obliged to abide by their recommendation to avoid legal challenge. But many people don’t believe that Rudakubana is genuinely mentally ill. Chris Walker, a lawyer who represents the families of the girls killed by Rudakubana, has said:
‘It is safe to say that whilst this news would devastate them at any time, the fact that this has occurred as we approach the second anniversary in our view is another move by AR who would appear to be attempting, once again, to manipulate the system’.
