Merseyside Police Review Parents’ Inquiry Testimony for Potential Charges in Southport Killings

Overview

• The force said it will obtain full transcripts from the Southport Inquiry to assess whether any previously unknown information justifies further investigation or charges.
• Officers had not referred a file to the CPS earlier because evidence did not meet the threshold for a realistic prospect of conviction.
• Families of the three girls who were killed publicly backed a re‑examination, with their solicitor stating support for reopening or expanding the probe into the parents’ conduct.
• Inquiry evidence included admissions that the father intercepted a machete ordered online, found a bow and arrow at home, and stopped his son from taking a taxi a week before the attack due to fears of an assault on a school.
• Compelled testimony from the inquiry cannot be used directly in prosecutions under an Attorney General undertaking, and the inquiry’s first‑phase report is expected early next year.