Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp faced tough questioning today over the previous Government's failure to prevent the Southport dance class murders, after it emerged killer Axel Rudakubana had been referred to counter-extremism programme Prevent three times.
GB News presenter Ellie Costello directly challenged Philp, asking: "How did you fail to stop this man?"
The grilling comes just 24 hours after Rudakubana, 18, unexpectedly pleaded guilty to murdering three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last July.
The teenage killer admitted all 16 charges against him at Liverpool Crown Court, including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7.
He had previously been referred to Prevent in 2019 and twice in 2021 before carrying out the attacks.
Philp acknowledged the need for a thorough examination through the newly announced public inquiry.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
He said: "I think we need to look into that through the public inquiry that was announced yesterday. We support that inquiry, and that is the kind of question it needs to get to the bottom of.
"I think the inquiry also needs to look at the government's handling of the aftermath of these terrible murders, where it appears to me that they knew information, for example, about the prevent referrals, which they did not share with the public, apparently on CPS advice.
"So we need to look at whether that was the right thing to do, and the Government have questions to answer about what they knew and when, why they didn't disclose that information.
"We saw some terrible, terrible riots. There were no excuse for those riots. But the inquiry needs to look at whether the Government's failure to disclose information made that situation worse."
The Government has claimed it followed Crown Prosecution Service advice regarding what information could be shared.
Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of anti-terrorism legislation, had raised concerns last October about the Government's approach to information sharing.
The Shadow Home Secretary demanded greater transparency from the Government about its handling of the case.
"We need to know what they knew and when, why that wasn't shared," he insisted.
When pressed by Eamonn Holmes about officials' knowledge during memorial visits, Philp called for full disclosure.
"I think they need to tell us exactly what they did know and when they knew it," he responded.
Yesterday, Rudakubana admitted to all 16 charges at Liverpool Crown Court, including three murders, ten attempted murders and terror offences. The families of the victims were not present for the guilty pleas, as they believed the trial would start today.
Rudakubana also pleaded guilty to possessing a kitchen knife, producing ricin, and having an Al-Qaeda training manual.
Find Out More...
GB News presenter Ellie Costello directly challenged Philp, asking: "How did you fail to stop this man?"
The grilling comes just 24 hours after Rudakubana, 18, unexpectedly pleaded guilty to murdering three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last July.
The teenage killer admitted all 16 charges against him at Liverpool Crown Court, including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7.
He had previously been referred to Prevent in 2019 and twice in 2021 before carrying out the attacks.
Philp acknowledged the need for a thorough examination through the newly announced public inquiry.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- Richard Tice fumes ‘we’re facing the mother of all cover-ups’ as Labour makes Rudakubana decision
- POLL OF THE DAY: Do you trust the public inquiry to get the truth on Southport? - VOTE NOW
- Farage erupts at ‘most appalling cover-up I’ve seen’ after being ‘vilified’ over Southport
He said: "I think we need to look into that through the public inquiry that was announced yesterday. We support that inquiry, and that is the kind of question it needs to get to the bottom of.
"I think the inquiry also needs to look at the government's handling of the aftermath of these terrible murders, where it appears to me that they knew information, for example, about the prevent referrals, which they did not share with the public, apparently on CPS advice.
"So we need to look at whether that was the right thing to do, and the Government have questions to answer about what they knew and when, why they didn't disclose that information.
"We saw some terrible, terrible riots. There were no excuse for those riots. But the inquiry needs to look at whether the Government's failure to disclose information made that situation worse."
The Government has claimed it followed Crown Prosecution Service advice regarding what information could be shared.
Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of anti-terrorism legislation, had raised concerns last October about the Government's approach to information sharing.
The Shadow Home Secretary demanded greater transparency from the Government about its handling of the case.
"We need to know what they knew and when, why that wasn't shared," he insisted.
When pressed by Eamonn Holmes about officials' knowledge during memorial visits, Philp called for full disclosure.
"I think they need to tell us exactly what they did know and when they knew it," he responded.
Yesterday, Rudakubana admitted to all 16 charges at Liverpool Crown Court, including three murders, ten attempted murders and terror offences. The families of the victims were not present for the guilty pleas, as they believed the trial would start today.
Rudakubana also pleaded guilty to possessing a kitchen knife, producing ricin, and having an Al-Qaeda training manual.
Find Out More...