Overview
- A 17-year-old from Cwmbran was arrested in June after discussing emulating Axel Rudakubana, researching large knives and keeping a phone note titled “places to attack,” and he has pleaded guilty to possessing a document useful for terrorism with sentencing set for January following psychiatric reports.
- A 16-year-old from Merseyside was arrested in August and is accused of travelling to Southport, collecting knives, researching a Taylor Swift‑themed event and downloading the same al‑Qaeda manual recovered from Rudakubana; he is charged with possessing documents useful for terrorism and making threats to kill and is due to enter pleas next month.
- Neither teenager has been charged with preparing terrorist acts because the Terrorism Act requires an ideological motive, according to prosecutors.
- Prevent referrals labelled as involving “no ideology” have risen to more than half of cases, yet only 7% received intervention, and Rudakubana was rejected by Prevent three times.
- The Southport Inquiry’s first phase concluded on Friday with police warning there are other children exhibiting similar violent fixations, and the next phase will examine whether policing and support services can better manage these risks.