Southport killer Axel Rudakubana sentenced to minimum of 52 years for murder of three girls at a dance class in 2024 He is given 52 years. Mr Justice Goose adds: “It is highly likely that he will never be released.” We are now closing this blog. Thank you for following. Once again, here is the Guardian’s report on today’s events from my colleague Josh Halliday, who was also present in court. Merseyside police have issued a statement from the Senior Investigating Officer of the investigation, detective chief inspector Jason Pye. He said: Although no outcome at court could possibly ease the pain and trauma of their families, I hope that knowing Rudakubana will now spend a considerable amount of time in prison will bring them some comfort. His sustained and ruthless attack took away the lives of three beautiful little girls, Bebe, Elsie and Alice, and the thoughts of everyone at Merseyside Police remain with their families. Our thoughts are also with the young girls who suffered serious injuries, and all of those who were traumatised by what they saw on that morning. He said the attack had also impacted on the community of Southport and “has been felt across the country”. This was the most harrowing, large-scale investigation that our force has ever dealt with and I want to praise the commitment, dedication, and sheer determination of the investigation team who have never had to deal with anything like this before. Having committed the most heinous of crimes, Rudakubana then tried at various points of the process to frustrate justice, by remaining silent and resisting co-operation. That he chose to plead guilty on the first day of trial at least spared the families and all those affected a trial that they had until that moment feared would compound their grief and distress further. Even today, he had to be removed from the dock after repeated attempts to disrupt the sentencing hearing by shouting as the prosecution tried to lay out the details of his awful crimes. I am pleased to see that – thanks to the determination of everyone involved in the legal process – all his efforts to frustrate the process were in vain and he has now faced justice for his terrible actions. He said he wanted to take the opportunity to publicly thank all the first responders who went to the scene that day and were “confronted with unimaginable horrors”. Officers went into the building to detain the suspect, emergency services tended to the wounded and members of the public bravely assisted with efforts to help those inside. All will no doubt still be affected by what they witnessed for the rest of their lives. I would also like to thank the investigation team for their steadfast determination to painstakingly go through every piece of evidence recovered in this investigation to make sure we were able to present the CPS with a comprehensive file of evidence to ensure that justice was done for the victims and their families. I think I can speak for the whole team when I say that this is probably the most harrowing case we have collectively worked on and our thoughts for the family have helped to keep us grounded and focussed despite the traumatic nature of what we were all dealing with. I want to thank counter terrorism policing for their unwavering support and advice and the CPS for their support and guidance to ensure we could get justice for Bebe, Elsie and Alice, the injured girls and adults and those who were traumatised by what they saw in the room that day, but miraculously managed to escape. He added: Finally, although Rudakubana has been sentenced to prison today, the pain felt by those families will continue for the rest of their lives and I want to pay tribute to Bebe, Elsie and Alice, who will never be forgotten. Their families, and those of all the children and adults affected, have behaved with incredible dignity and courage since that dreadful day, and our thoughts are with them today and always. Watch as the High Court judge Mr Justice Goose reads out the sentences he has handed down to Rudakubana for each of the charges, which include 13 life sentences. They will run concurrently, meaning he will serve a minimum prison term of 52 years and will not be eligible for parole until he is at least 70 years old. Statements from some of those who worked on the case, such as the police and CPS, and some of the victims would normally be read outside the court building. It is usually an opportunity to respond to the sentence that has been passed and thank the victims and those who worked on the case for their hard work. However, these statements today have been moved or cancelled, which appears to be due to disruption from a small number of far-right activists outside Liverpool crown court. The detective who led the investigation into the Southport atrocity said he would have been “happy” for it to be declared as terrorism as it would have given officers more time to investigate the killings. DCI Jason Pye said the question of whether Axel Rudakubana’s attack was terrorism had been “assessed on an almost daily basis”. Here is a Guardian video report on the sentencing, featuring CCTV footage shown to the court of Rudakubana travelling to commit the attack. It is not a graphic video but please be aware it shows clips of the seconds leading up to the murders. Some more statements from the victims’ families. The children were given letters so they could be referenced without publicly identifying them. From the family of Child O: We are glad that the guilty plea was announced to stop the anguish for all the families. We are looking forward to justice being done. We would like to thank the emergency services and all the other organisations and individuals that have offered support and kindness throughout this tragic time. From the family of Child P: The sights and sounds that day were so traumatic to all, the families, the neighbours, the services and of course our children. This will forever be with us and our thoughts will remain with the families of Alice, Bebe and Elsie who although our daughter didn’t know, now thinks and prays for them often. From the family of Child Q: Although the horrific events will always stay with us, we now hope to be able to move forward as a family to enjoy happier times. We would like to like to thank everyone for the love and support we have received during this difficult time. From the family of Child U: Horrific incidents like this should unite society and not cause a divide amongst them, and remind everyone that there is more good than bad in the world. From the family of Children V and W, who are siblings: Following the horrific events at the Hart Space on July 29th, the bravery and strength that our two daughters have shown has kept us going, in stark contrast to the cowardice displayed by Axel Rudakubana. We will continue to support and guide them through their psychological recovery, love them unconditionally and continue to grow stronger as a family. We welcome the public enquiry and wish to understand how the failings that have been discovered will be addressed. From the family of Child X: Whilst I’m glad we haven’t had to sit through the pain of a trial and reliving that awful day, what happened that day will stay with us forever. We’d like to thank everyone who has helped and supported those of us effected by the tragedy. The family of another child seriously injured, who survived the attack, said: First and foremost, we would like to send our love, thoughts and condolences to the families and loved ones of Alice, Bebe, Elsie Dot and indeed the rest of the families forever touched by the attack on the 29th of July 2024. We recognise that we are extremely fortunate to have our little princess with us, and we are immensely proud of her and the bravery, courage, and resilience she has shown, both on the day of the attack and since, as she takes the first steps on the long road to recovery. We would like to thank all the emergency services involved with all the victims and families on the day, with special thanks reserved for the police officer who personally took vigilant care of our daughter, the air ambulance team, and hospital staff who continue to support and contribute to the care of the girls. We would also like to thank the residents of Hart Street, in particular the two families who gave our daughter shelter in their homes, in the immediate aftermath of this unprecedented and hideous attack. Your kindness and compassion will never be forgotten. We welcome the guilty verdict but also realise this is only the first step on the road to justice. We welcome the public inquiry and believe that true justice can only be achieved by preventing anything like this from happening again. We ask for privacy and respect, as we focus on repairing the harm caused, this incident will not define us as a family, and we are confident our daughter will continue to grow in strength as we rebuild our lives. Statements responding to the sentence have been released by some of the families of the victims. The family of two siblings injured in the attack said: Today our family welcome the sentence imposed on that monster, however nothing will ever reverse the heartbreaking events of that day. Our children have been exposed to scenes that no one should ever see and caused unimaginable pain and heartache for us all. Alice, Bebe, Elsie and their families remain in our thoughts always. We would like to thank Merseyside Police and the CPS for bringing justice and for the emergency services who attended the scene and medical staff who treated our girls with such compassion. We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the public for all of their support and well wishes since that tragic day. For now, we need time to reflect and process the events of the past few months and ask for privacy during this time. We will come forwards and speak when we feel ready. The children’s charity, the NSPCC has issued a statement following the sentencing from Chris Sherwood, its chief executive. During the hearing, the court heard how Rudakubana, then aged 15, had contacted councillors at its help centre for children, Childline, confessing that he was taking a knife to school. The charity contacted the police. The Southport attack was devastating for the local community and the country as a whole. Our thoughts remain with all those impacted by this appalling act of violence, and in particular with the families of the three little girls who so tragically lost their lives. Now the court case has concluded it is vital the public inquiry moves forward quickly to uncover exactly what happened and why. There are many difficult questions that need to be addressed so that everything possible is done to prevent something so terrible and heartbreaking from happening again. The NSPCC stands ready to support in any way we can. Childline is also here around the clock, both online and over the phone, for any child or young person across the UK who is struggling to process what happened in Southport and the aftermath. What happens next? On Monday, ahead of the sentencing, the prime minister said a public inquiry would be held into the attack. Ordering the inquiry, Keir Starmer said the country had “failed in its duty” to protect the children who became victims. It followed revelations in the Guardian that Rudakubana had previously been referred three times to Prevent, the government’s anti-radicalisation scheme. The government will appoint a chair of the inquiry, who will begin gathering evidence. Now that the investigation is concluded, inquests will also be held into the deaths of the three girls. These are public hearings, which will be reported on by the media, which aim to understand the circumstances around a death, usually including whether there was an opportunity to prevent it. Rudakubana is also entitled to appeal the sentence handed out today, if his lawyers can find a legal argument as to why his sentence was too harsh. There is also an avenue for the victims to appeal if they think the sentence was too lenient. Merseyside police has asked members of the public not to share social media posts detailing the injuries the children suffered at the hands of Rudakubana. Here is the Guardian’s full report on the sentencing, written by our north of England editor Josh Halliday, who is in court and has covered this case from the day the attack happened. The Crown Prosecution Service said the victims had shown “tremendous dignity and composure in the face of unbelievable horror”. Sarah Hammond, chief crown prosecutor of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: Many of our cases have tragedy, difficulty and trauma, but this case is one of the most harrowing that I, as the Chief Crown Prosecutor for this area, have ever come across. Three beautiful girls - Elsie Dot Stancombe, Bebe King, and Alice da Silva Aguiar lost their lives on a day that should have been filled with happiness. When Rudakubana entered the room, they were singing and making friendship bracelets. Axel Rudakubana is a murderer, and displayed unrelenting savagery as he carried out a meticulously planned rampage of murder and violence. His purpose was to kill and he targeted the youngest, most vulnerable, no doubt in order to spread the greatest level of fear and outrage, which he did. Though he pleaded guilty to the charges, she said Rudakubana “has never expressed any remorse, only cowardice in his refusal to face the families whose lives he has forever changed”. This has been an extremely difficult case for the prosecution team. They have had to work through some harrowing footage and evidence. I would like to thank them for their perseverance and determination to achieve justice for the victims and their families. This sentencing brings to an end this case, but the events of that day will leave a tragic legacy that will unfortunately endure for many years.