Police and authorities needs to be extra open about legal probe into Southport ‘killer’ to keep away from social media filling info void, terror watchdog says as cover-up row grows

A terror watchdog chief has called for the government and police to be more open about the criminal investigation into the Southport triple murder suspect.

Jonathan Hall KC, who is an independent reviewer of terrorism laws, said the authorities must not fall into the ‘trap’ of refusing to tell the public what they know for fear of derailing court cases.

He said that there is a ‘fair amount of information’ that the police and government can release in cases such as this and that refusing to do so leads to speculation filling the void on social media.

It comes amid reports that senior government figures knew ‘weeks ago’ that Axel Rudakubana could face terror charges, with Tories accusing Labour of ‘keeping facts from the public’.

However, Downing Street has denied accusations of a ‘cover up’ over details of the allegations, insisting that information has not been held back.

Rudakubana, 18, appeared in court today over allegations he made the deadly poison ricin and obtained a study of an Al-Qaeda training manual. 

He had already been charged with the murders of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King, six at a Taylor Swift dance class on July 29 as well as ten attempted murders and possession of a knife. 

The BBC reports that the most senior figures in government first became aware of the possibility of new charges against Rudakubuna in the past few weeks.

In order to charge a suspect under the Biological Weapons Act, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) must obtain consent from the attorney general or solicitor general. 

That is said to have been requested a few weeks ago. The government maintains that both the charging decision and timeline were a matter for the CPS.

The killings sparked large scale riots, fuelled by misinformation on social media, in towns and cities across the UK. 

Yesterday, senior Tories demanded Keir Starmer reveals what he knew and when.

Conservative leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick said he was ‘seriously concerned that facts may have been withheld from the public’, while rival Kemi Badenoch added that there are ‘serious questions to be asked’ of authorities.

Today the Prime Minister hit back, telling the Commons: ‘All of us in this House have a choice to make – including both candidates to be the next Tory leader – they can either support the police in their difficult task or they can undermine the police in their difficult task. And I know which side I’m on.’

But Mr Hall told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning that the government and police themselves must not fall into the ‘trap’ of staying silent on such cases.

‘The Government has to be aware, and will be aware, that if there is an information gap, particularly in the mainstream media, then there are other voices, particularly in social media, who will try and fill it,’ he said.

‘I would always say to the Government – and do say to the Government, as I say to the police – if there is information that you can give, put it in the public domain, and be really careful that you don’t fall into the trap of saying ‘we can only say zilch, because there are criminal proceedings’.

‘Quite often, there’s a fair amount of information that can be put into the public domain, and I think I detect that the police are trying to do that.’

He added he was ‘not completely surprised’ that there had been a delay in the new charges. 

Mr Hall said: ‘The nature of these sorts of events is that an attack takes place, the police rush to the scene, they will carry out a series of raids, they will sweep up devices, which are often a golden source of evidence, to see whether or not there’s a terror cause, to see whether other offences are being committed.

‘And that takes a bit of time to analyse because phones are very large these days, they’re often encrypted.

‘And in terms of looking at the substances, that will take a bit of examination at laboratories.

‘So I don’t know personally when ministers found out about it but I’m not surprised that things come out in stages.’

No10 has said any suggestion of withholding information is ‘not correct’, adding that the focus should remain with the victims of the attack.

Police repeatedly insisted at the time that the holiday camp bloodbath in Hart Street, Southport was not being treated as terror-related. 

The authorities insisted yesterday that the events had still not been declared a terrorist incident because no motive had been established.

Mr Hall told the broadcaster the line between whether a violent attack carried out by one individual is terrorism or not is often ‘wafer-thin’.

The key test is whether an attack was intended to advance an ideological, political, religious or racial cause, Mr Hall said.

‘It doesn’t follow, I’m afraid, that because someone has carried out a big attack that they therefore must be advancing a cause.

‘There are cases, it sounds bizarre but it’s absolutely true, where someone has got Al-Qaida material, someone has got IRA material, someone’s got extreme right material and sometimes all that you can really say when you look at someone’s devices is ‘this individual is fascinated with violence’.’

Downing Street denied the Government had been involved in the timing of the charging announcement.

A spokeswoman said: ‘No, charging decisions and when those are made are for the CPS.’

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned against speculating about the case, adding: ‘The most important thing is to get justice for Bebe, Alice and Elsie and their heartbroken families, and all those affected by the attack, and nobody should put that at risk.’

Today Sir Lindsay Hoyle warned MPs against referring to the Southport case to avoid prejudicing the legal process.

He told MPs ahead of Prime Minister’s Questions: ‘I wish to remind the House that, following the horrendous terrible incident in Southport on July 29, a suspect is awaiting trial having been charged with multiple offences. That means the House sub judice resolution is engaged and references should not be made to the case.

‘I know that all honourable members wish to see justice done in this case. It is therefore of paramount importance that nothing is said in this House which could potentially prejudice a proper trial or lead to it being abandoned.’

The latest charges came after searches of Rudakubana’s home in Banks, Lancashire, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said at a press conference on Tuesday.

The alleged terror offence relates to a PDF file entitled Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual. He has also been charged with the ‘production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, contrary to Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974’.

Searches were carried out in the days after the attack, although it was not confirmed when any alleged ricin was found.

According to the charges, authorised by the CPS yesterday, the toxin was allegedly produced on or before July 29, and Rudakubana was charged with possessing the document between August 29 2021 and July 30 2024.

Rudakubana is alleged to have entered the school holiday dance class at a small business park in Southport shortly before midday on July 29.

The day after the attack, thousands of people turned out for a peaceful vigil in the town but later a separate protest erupted into violence outside a mosque in the town.

In the following week, protests took place in dozens of towns and cities across the country and descended into violence and rioting, with asylum centre hotels in particular targeted.

More than 1,000 arrests have since been made and hundreds of people have been charged and jailed.

A provisional trial date for Rudakubana has been set for January next year.

Mr Jenrick said last night: ‘The Government and authorities told us for months they were not treating this as a terrorist incident,’ the former immigration minister said. 

‘This atrocity was of immense public concern. The public had a right to know the truth straight away.

‘Any suggestion of a cover-up will permanently damage public trust in whether we’re being told the truth about crime in our country.

‘Keir Starmer must urgently explain to the country what he knew about the Southport attack and when he learned it.

‘Across the board the hard reality of mass migration is being covered up. We need the truth – and we need to change.’

Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents and moved to the Southport area in 2013. He was living in Banks, Lancashire, at the time of the attack.

Ms Badenoch said there are ‘serious questions to be asked’ of the authorities.

She tweeted: ‘After the Southport murders and the ensuing protests and riots, some people asked me why I wasn’t commenting. This is why. Too many on all sides rush to conclusions before all the facts are clear.

‘As more information emerges, it is quite clear that there are serious questions to be asked of the police, the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] and also of Keir Starmer’s response to the whole situation. Parliament is the right place for this to happen.

‘While we must abide by the rules of contempt of court and not prejudice this case it is important that there is appropriate scrutiny.’

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, posted a video on Twitter in which he said: ‘In the wake of the horrific murder of those three girls in Southport in July of this year, I asked some questions saying ‘please tell us the truth – stop the online speculation’.

‘Well it has taken a long time to find out more about the individual. He has now been charged, believe it or not, under the Biological Weapons Act because the police have [allegedly] found Ricin in his home.

‘He has been charged under the Terrorism Act, alleged to have downloaded Al-Qaeda terrorist materials.

‘But the murder of the girls, and the serious injury of the others, that is still being treated as a non-terror incident because they don’t know what the motives were.

‘We’ve also been told this afternoon there are other facts that we don’t yet know because the Crown Prosecution Service say they will come out in good time in court and are not to be discussed now.

‘So that’s alright then? That all makes sense to you, doesn’t it? Yes, absolutely.’

Speaking at the press conference, chief constable Serena Kennedy, said: ‘I would strongly advise everyone to avoid speculation about the motivation in this case.

‘The criminal proceedings against Axel Rudakubana are live and he has a right to a fair trial.

‘It is extremely important that there is no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online that could prejudice these procedures.’

And government sources have blasted the comments made by Jenrick and Badenoch, branding the Tory hopefuls ‘simply despicable’.

One told The Times: ‘What these comments show is that — whichever candidate wins the Tory leadership — a party which used to stand for law and order, and respect for the police, is headed for a future built on conspiracy theories and the undermining of public faith in our institutions and public servants. 

‘In the best of circumstances, that lurch into the politics of division and distrust would be hugely depressing, but to do it on the back of the heartbreaking losses in Southport is simply despicable.’

Downing Street said the Prime Minister’s thoughts remain with the families of the Southport attack victims, saying suggestions facts had been withheld were ‘not correct’.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: ‘The Government is focused on ensuring the families and all those affected receive justice, and first and foremost the Prime Minister’s thoughts are with those families and the local community. His thoughts remain firmly with them.’

Downing Street denied the Government had been involved in decision-making about the timing of an announcement about charges against the Southport attack suspect.

Asked if there was any Government involvement in decisions on the timing, a No 10 spokeswoman said: ‘No, charging decisions and when those are made are for the CPS.’

She also said it was ‘not correct’ to say the Government had been involved in withholding facts from the public.

The spokeswoman added: ‘Charging decisions are independently made by the CPS and I would point you to the CPS’ statement and statements from the police.’