LONDON– England’s Merseyside police department was forced to admit last month that the force was “restricted” from providing vital information about the July Southport attack that killed three teenage girls at Taylor Swift’s dance class, as the suspect now faces fear-related charges.
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 18, is facing new charges under the country’s Terrorism Act in addition to the existing three counts of murder, ten counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of knives, authorities said last week. Rudakubana is suspected to have carried out the stabbing massacre that killed three girls – Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6 – and injured many others.
Police said the suspect produced the deadly poison ricin and had al Qaeda training manuals titled “Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The al Qaeda Training Manual” during a search of the suspect’s belongings. The police did not declare these incidents as terrorist incidents as the reason is not yet known, authorities said.
SUSPECT IN UK STABBING DEATH OF 3 GIRLS FOUND WITH RICIN, AL QAEDA MATERIAL AND FORGOTTEN UNDER TERRORISM ACT
Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice Dasilva Aguiar (left to right) were killed during a Taylor Swift-themed dance party. The young suspect is facing multiple charges related to murder. (Merseyside Police)
“We have been given extensive guidance by CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] in relation to what we can say publicly to ensure the integrity of the court proceedings, we are therefore limited in what we can share with you now, while the proceedings are ongoing,” Merseyside Police said in a statement to fend off criticism that the force “decided to keep things public.”
The revelations of the terror-related charges have drawn fire to the police and the government’s secretive and double-edged approach after the deadly attack in Southport, a city north of Liverpool, back in July.
“I think the reason was that they did not want to destroy the trial. And I think that the reason will be an important issue in the case, and they did not want to release information about the suspect who spoke about his intention,” said. Toby Young, director of the Free Speech Union in the UK told Fox News Digital.
But Young added that “there’s kind of a double standard when it comes to information being released by attackers in these situations,” as the government and authorities would have been more likely to come forward if the attacker had been “a white guy on the right. .”
Anti-immigration activists hold a ‘Enough is Enough’ protest on August 2, 2024, in Sunderland, England. After the murder of three girls in Southport earlier this week, false information spread on social media and fueled acts of violence by far-right activists across England. Although they prefer to be called ‘concerned parents’, their actions point to racial hatred that is deeply rooted in Islamophobia and thus targets mosques. (Drik/Getty Images)
The killing led to widespread unrest across England amid speculation about the attacker’s background and the nature of the attack. As a result, many people have been charged and jailed for comments made on the Internet that the court deems as seditious.
Last month, Lucy Connolly, the wife of a local Conservative Party politician, was jailed for more than 31 months after posting what authorities say were violent comments on social media aimed at asylum seekers.
Wayne O’Rourke, who had an X account with more than 90,000 followers, was jailed for three years for inciting his arrest after he allegedly carried out a Muslim attack in Southport. “You weren’t caught up in what others were doing, you were inciting it,” said the judge when handing down the sentence. “The flames are fanned by keyboard warriors like you.”
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Residents of the usually ‘quiet’ town of Southport have gone on a rampage against police after at least three girls were killed in a mass stabbing yesterday. (Richard McCarthy/PA via AP)
But while the police have remained tight-lipped on the grounds of non-discrimination in the trial, releasing only a few details about the incident, left-wing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was quick to criticize the people involved in the riot as “good.”
Winston Marshall, host of the Winston Marshall Show, told Fox News Digital, “Prime Minister Starmer is very careful not to interfere with the trial of Axel Rudakubana after the new charges of possession of Islamic books and Ricin were laid.”
A British podcaster commented, “But we in the British public clearly remember how Starmer called the August riots “right-wing riots” almost immediately and before any of them were convicted. It is for this behavior that he is rightly and bitterly derided as a “Two-Tier Keir.”
“Keir Starmer spoke frankly to the rebels, some of whom were arrested and in custody, as on the right, so he did not hesitate to speculate about the motives of people who were arrested for rebellion, although that might be easy. to prejudice their crimes, and not all of them pleaded guilty,” said Young.
“To describe a person who was arrested and charged, but pleaded not guilty, as a criminal is to underestimate the outcome of his case, too. It is not to extend the presumption that he is innocent to them … The office and, according to that, the Secretary of the Interior believes that they are guilty,” he added.
The leader of the far-right Reform Party, Nigel Farage, has been under fire from the coalition of the two main Conservative and left-wing parties and accused of inciting riots after questioning the lack of information released to the public.
“I just wonder if the truth is being withheld from us. I don’t know the answer to that, but I think it’s a fair and legitimate question,” Farage said after the attack, questioning whether the suspect was known. employed by the national security forces. Farage also questioned why the incident was not treated as terrorism-related.
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer listens to a speech by British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at the Labor Party Conference in Liverpool, England, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Neil Basu, the former counter-terrorism chief between 2018 and 2021, suggested that Farage could be investigated and accused the politician of “undermining the police, creating conspiracy theories, and laying a false foundation for attacks on people.” the police.”
Conservative peer Lord Barwell, a former MP and former chief of staff to Prime Minister Theresa May, called Farage “shameful” for spreading “false information” on social media after the attack.
“He is an MP. If he had questions, he could have asked them yesterday in the House of Commons – but he wasn’t there. Instead, he chooses to encourage those who spread false information here. [social media]. It’s really a shame.”
But the latest statement by the police and the new charges related to terrorism have relieved the critics. “Maybe I was right all along,” Farage said last week in a video posted on X.
A man typing on a laptop (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Farage wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper that he and his party colleagues were banned from asking questions about the Southport attack in Parliament because he was afraid it might prejudice the public during the suspect’s trial.
Farage said authorities told him he was not allowed to speak on the matter in Parliament after he sent a written question to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper asking if the suspect had ever been referred to the country’s counter-terrorism program.
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“It is impossible to say anything other than that government resources are being used to manage this situation,” said Farage. “Currently, therefore, it appears that no one is allowed to ask in the appropriate forum when the government knows that the defendant will face charges of ricin and terrorist material.
He added: “Likewise, no one knows that this man is somehow known to the authorities. Do we really want to live in a society where such important information is not public? Who decided that this information should remain secret?
Police and prosecutors have yet to release information to the public about whether the suspect was previously known to the country’s security and counter-terrorism authorities.
The suspect accused of the attack was born in Wales to Rwandan parents, police said later. British media reported that he was raised as a Christian. A trial on the murder charges is scheduled for January.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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