Southport attack: Murder suspect Axel Rudakubana charged after ricin and al Qaeda manual found

29 October 2024, 12:35 | Updated: 29 October 2024, 19:57

The teenager accused of stabbing three girls to death in Southport faces a separate terror charge after police said a biological toxin and an al Qaeda training manual were found in a search of his home.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, from Lancashire, had already been charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder following the mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in July.

At a briefing today, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy from Merseyside Police said the teenager now faces two further charges related to evidence obtained by police following searches of his home after the attacks.

She said he now faces one charge of the "production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, contrary to Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974".

He also faces a terror charge of possession of information "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000".

She added that this charge relates to a PDF file entitled "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual".

However, police have not declared the events of 29 July a terrorist incident.

"For a matter to be declared as a terrorist incident, motivation would need to be established," Chief Constable Kennedy said.

Health officials added that there was no evidence of ricin poisoning at the dance event where the attack took place, or that any members of the public were exposed to the toxin.

"Following the events of Monday 29 July, searches of Axel Rudakubana's home resulted in an unknown substance being found. Testing confirmed the substance as ricin," Chief Constable Kennedy said.

"We have worked extensively with partners to establish there was a low to very low risk to the public and I want to make that reassurance clear today."

Ricin was confirmed to have been found at Rudakubana's home after scientists from the government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory carried out tests on the evidence.

Dr Renu Bindra, from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said experts from the agency "immediately undertook a thorough public health risk assessment" after police alerted them to the presence of ricin at the property in early August.

She continued: "There was no evidence that any victims, responders or members of the public were exposed to ricin, either as part of the incident or afterwards.

"Our detailed initial risk assessment judged that the risk to the community, and to the wider public, was low."

Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court via videolink tomorrow in relation to the latest charges.

Read more:
King meets Southport stabbing survivors
Parents letter to Southport victim read out at funeral

Girls killed and children injured

The three girls who died in the Southport attack were named as six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar.

Eight other children were stabbed in the attack at The Hart Space community centre in the Merseyside town.

Five of them were left in a critical condition. Two adults who were trying to protect the children were also left in a critical condition.

Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time, was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the attack the same day.

It was followed by days of far-right riots up and down the UK after misinformation online said the suspect was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat.

However, it later emerged that Rudakubana was born in Cardiff in Wales.

Nearly 400 people have so far been jailed for offences relating to the disorder, the government has said.

(c) Sky News 2024: Southport attack: Murder suspect Axel Rudakubana charged after ricin and al Qaeda manual found