Southport murder suspect now faces charges under Terrorism Act

Chief Constable Chief Constable Serena Kennedy has today, Tuesday 29 October, made the following statement in relation to the case of Axel Muganwa Rudakubana:

"Today the Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Axel Rudakubana, aged 18, from Banks in Lancashire, to be charged with two further offences.

"Axel Rudakubana already faces three charges of murder, 10 charges of attempted murder and one charge of possession of a knife – all relating to the incident at Hart Street, Southport on 29 July 2024.

"The two further offences relate to evidence obtained by Merseyside Police during searches of Axel Rudakubana’s home address, as part of the lengthy and complex investigation that followed the events of 29 July 2024.

The additional charges are:

Production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, contrary to Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974.
Possessing information, namely a pdf file entitled “Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual” of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

"Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court via video link tomorrow.

“Following the announcement of the further charges today I wanted to reassure the public of Southport, and Merseyside, that we are committed to achieving justice for the families of Bebe, Elsie and Alice, the 10 victims who were injured at the Hart Space in Southport on that Monday, in July, and the other 16 people who were present.

“We are also committed to being open and transparent with our communities.  However, I am sure you will all appreciate that we need to make sure we do not prejudice any trial.

“You may have seen speculation online that the police are deciding to keep things from the public.  This is certainly not the case.

"We have been given extensive guidance by the CPS in relation to what we can say publicly to ensure the integrity of the court proceedings are protected, and therefore we are restricted in what we can share with you now, whilst the proceedings are live.

“Following the events of Monday 29 July, searches of Axel Rudakubana’s home address resulted in an unknown substance being found – testing confirmed the substance was ricin.

"We have worked extensively with partners to establish that there was a low to very low risk to the public – and I want to make that reassurance clear today.  I can also tell you that there was no ricin present at Hart Street.

“When the ricin was discovered, all necessary steps were taken so we could be sure that no one was at risk.  This was a multi-agency response. Expert advice, and guidance was received and adhered to throughout the investigation.

“In the following days Merseyside Police worked closely with partners including:  Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS); North West Ambulance Service (NWAS); Sefton Council; Lancashire Police; West Lancashire Borough Council; Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW); Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP); UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); Crown Prosecution Service (CPS); NHS England; National CBRN Centre; Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), and the Ministry of Defence  to identify if there was any risk to victims, local communities, or the specialist professionals in attendance at Hart Street and Old School Close.

“At this point it is particularly appropriate to recognise the support we have received from the emergency services, the local authority, and Counter Terrorism Policing. That support has included forensics experts and digital investigators. This was in place from the initial stages of the investigation and remains ongoing.

“I want to reassure our communities that we continue to work in partnership with all our partners and are absolutely committed to keeping our communities safe.

“At this time, Counter Terrorism Policing has not declared the attack on Monday 29 July a terrorist incident.  I recognise that the new charges, may lead to speculation.  The matter for which Axel Rudakubana has been charged with under the Terrorism Act does not require motive to be established. For a matter to be declared a terrorist incident, motivation would need to be established.

“We would strongly advise caution against anyone speculating as to 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 which could in any way prejudice these proceedings. I want to remind everyone that a trial is scheduled for January next year.

“Since 29th July, my officers and staff have been working   diligently in conjunction with colleagues from Counter- terrorism and they are continuing to assess evidential material we have recovered to ensure all the evidence is available to the CPS, and the details of the case will come out in court.

“My plea is to be patient, don’t engage in rumour and speculation and don’t believe everything you read on social media.

“We must not lose sight of the families of Elsie, Bebe, and Alice, who are still grieving, and the families of those children and adults who were injured and affected by what happened on that day.

We all need to do the right thing by them to ensure the justice process is not prejudiced.”

Professor Tim Atkins, senior scientific adviser for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), said: “If you have not heard of us before Dstl is part of the Ministry of Defence… dedicated to delivering high impact science and technology for both UK’s defence and homeland security.

“Our role is extremely wide ranging providing vital scientific support …not just to the armed forces, but also to the police and various other agencies in the event of a chemical or biological incident.

“That level of support ranges from deployed scientists attending incidents… to analytical and testing support …based at laboratories at our Porton Down site in Wiltshire.

“Before I go into the detail of our role … I’d like to first of all... and on behalf of everyone at Dstl…  express our deepest condolences to the families who have lost precious loves ones…  and to everyone suffering the consequences of this tragic incident. 

“Dstl’s role is to identify hazardous and deadly substances and provide scientific expertise and advice. Firstly so the police and law enforcement agencies can deliver justice… and secondly to enable public health authorities to keep people safe a role which is of huge importance to all of us at Dstl.  

“As a strategic national asset we are unique in the United Kingdom…. a sovereign capability that delivers sensitive science that directly supports the protection of the public.

“Within Dstl is the Chemical and Biological response capability.

“This world-leading capability works routinely and directly with emergency response services, including the police, during an incident….to ensure responders can identify and understand the dangers associated with highly hazardous chemicals and biological substances.

“From the outset, the full spectrum of Dstl’s capability has been provided to Merseyside Police.  This included scientific advisors, myself included, and supporting staff providing advice at the joint command group in Liverpool, and unrestricted access to our analysis laboratories at Porton Down, where a team of forensic scientists undertook detailed examination of items from the incident to identify the presence of ricin.

“At all stages of the incident, Dstl have worked closely with Merseyside Police, with the priority that people were kept safe, and to allow the police to respond and investigate as quickly as possible.

“Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the tireless effort of Dstl staff in supporting Merseyside Police during this terrible incident, and for their dedication to ensuring public and responder safety throughout the UK.”

Dr Renu Bindra, is a Senior Medical Advisor at the UK Health Security Agency, whose role includes working with partners from multiple agencies – including the police and the NHS - to assess the risk to the public’s health from a wide range of threats, and to provide specialist advice.

Dr Bindra said: “Early in August, we were informed by the police that ricin, a very toxic poison, had been found in the suspect’s home.

“Following this, our agency’s experts in health protection and in chemicals, poisons and toxicology immediately undertook a thorough public health risk assessment. This was based on the available evidence and information we received from the police, Dstl and the NHS.  

“This information confirmed that 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. 

“As always, when responding to possible health threats, we keep our public health risk assessments under close review. As the police investigation developed, our ongoing assessment was that the risk to the public had reduced even further.

“I appreciate that this information may be concerning. However, I would like to emphasise that there has been no evidence of ricin poisoning in anyone involved or connected to this incident.

“Ricin is not infectious between people and the risk to the wider public based on the information available has always been low.

“Most people who have ricin poisoning will develop symptoms within 24 hours, with some symptoms starting even earlier. It is very unlikely that symptoms will start after more than 3 days.

“I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences to all those affected by this incident, and our thoughts remain with the families, the local community and all those who supported the response.”