Southport inquiry: Terror referral 'would have continued if cop saw search history'

A police sergeant told an inquiry she would not have closed the Southport killer’s first referral to the government’s anti-terror programme if she had seen his internet search history.

Axel Rudakubana killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and attempted to murder 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year. Today, the Southport Inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall was shown the first referral to Prevent made by Rudakubana’s school in December, 2019.

The referral included details that he had brought a knife to his previous school on 10 occasions; that he was found searching school shootings in America during an ICT lesson; and that he questioned why he could colour in Call of Duty images during an art lesson but could not look at guns on the internet before requesting a “picture of a severed head”.

READ MORE: Southport killer sold machete by firm whose boss was cautioned over blades

READ MORE: Southport taxi driver's explanation in FULL despite hearing screams and driving away

The inquiry heard previously that Rudakubana attacked a pupil at his former school with a hockey stick, causing actual bodily harm, and was found in possession of a knife. Police sergeant Carmen Thompson of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, who at that time worked at Prevent and dealt with Rudakubana’s referral, said she found the contents “concerning” upon first reading the referral.

But she said she “needed to get more information and speak to him” to make a full assessment. The inquiry heard Ps Thompson eventually recommended closure of the Prevent referral, deciding that Rudakubana did not meet the threshold for a referral to Channel – the government programme which provides early stage support to people identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.

She told Liverpool Town Hall that she had not been aware that the investigation into Rudakubana’s school browsing history found he had searched for images of degloving injuries and glue guns. Asked if knowing that information at the time would have changed the outcome of the referral, she said: “I believe if I’d have seen that search history as you’ve just explained then I would have referred it to Channel.”

Before making the decision, the inquiry heard Ps Thompson attended a strategy meeting with other agencies in which it emerged that Rudakubana had said he was being bullied at school and had made a comment about the Manchester Arena Attack in 2017 being a “good battle”.

She told the inquiry: “My understanding was a lot of the comments that he said were very inappropriate in relation to all sorts of different things and I attributed that to the way he was presenting with his autism and the issues that he had, like not being able to make eye contact, not understanding emotions, all these sorts of traits that you could associate with autism.

“When I spoke to him and obviously I got sight of these comments and behaviours I put it into the context that it was to do with his autism and his belief that he was being bullied and his frustration with it.”

She added: “I accept that he was violent, he had been arrested for a violent offence, but for my assessment as to was he meeting a threshold for a referral to Channel… I didn’t view it as extreme violence in a Prevent way.”

She said she did not see that he was trying to promote a specific ideology, adding: “I didn’t see that obsession through the decision making and conversations and information that I had at that time. Of course it’s really difficult now with hindsight not to consider that because we all know what happened on that day and I’m finding that difficult to do.”

The sergeant appeared emotional at this stage and was later seen wiping the corner of her eyes as she continued giving evidence.

The inquiry continues.