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ITV News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Southport Inquiry: Can public inquiries lead to real change?
Speaking ahead of the Southport Inquiry Figen Murrary, the mum of Martyn Hett, says the Manchester Arena Inquiry gave her the answers she needed, but it took an emotional and physical toll. The government has so far announced three new public inquiries in 2025, bringing the total of ongoing or announced inquiries to 21. But with more public inquiries than ever - are they working as they should? While public inquiries can be tools for accountability, they are not without challenges. Critics often point to the lengthy durations and substantial costs associated with these investigations and even more crucially the fact they often do not lead to change. A recent report by the House of Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee warned inquiries were perceived as 'frequently too long and expensive, leading to a loss of public confidence and protracted trauma'. Figen Murray OBE, the mother of Martyn Hett, one of 22 people killed in the Manchester Arena bombing, knows all too well the emotional and physical toll public inquiries can take on families. The inquiry into the Manchester Arena Attack lasted more than three years. She said: "Going through an inquiry as a family member who has been directly affected either by death or injury, it is one of the most traumatic experiences I have ever gone through. "Once you see something, you can't un-see it. And when you hear things you can't un-hear them. So people need to appreciate that sitting through an inquiry you see things, you hear things, you go through all sorts of emotions and it's brutal." However Figen maintains the inquiry did give her the answers she needed and helped her campaign for Martyn's Law. Figen Murray said: They're crucially important because they make people accountable and they actually make sure all the facts are on the table and people can examine them and actually make sense of what happened and it puts all the pieces together that are missing. "I think inquiries are absolutely crucial to learning from bad catastrophic events and finding out what can be done to avoid that from happening again." While few will disagree with the need for an inquiry into the Southport tragedy, some remain skeptical as to what it'll achieve. "It had been hoped Southport would be the first to adhere to the Hillsborough Law which would force public officials to tell the truth at inquiries from the outset or face criminal sanctions but the bill's yet to be passed." Elkan Abrahamson, Director of Hillsborough Law Now believes the current inquiry process is ineffective. "There are two big reasons why I think they are ineffective," he said. "The first-is the lack of a duty of candour so it is easy to mislead a public inquiry - certainly in the early stages before an inquiry kicks off and the second is a lack of any oversight mechanism to see that any recommendations are, if not fully implemented, then at least properly considered. "Time and again we have a public inquiry where recommendations are made and just ignored and we have to do something about that." But Professor Lucy Easthope, one of the country's leading emergency planners, believes if done well the Southport Inquiry could bring positive change. "One of the things about the inquiry is there wasn't a trial which many people were relieved about in some ways but it did mean there were a lot of questions unanswered and the inquiry can go much more broadly into other questions as well," she said. "There is no doubt that inquiries done well with the right disclosure and with a very focused chair that demands things of the people giving evidence does inevitably and necessarily change practise. "The sad thing for us is to have to see it being in an inquiry. " So it seems this public inquiry will itself come in for intense scrutiny. The big question, will be whether it'll be able to provide clarity and a degree of closure to the families of Alice, Bebe and Elsie and all the others affected by the terrible events of last summer.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- BBC News
'Life is not like it was before,' father of girl injured in Southport attack tells inquiry
Update: Date: 12:37 BST Title: What we heard at the Southport inquiry today Content: This morning we heard from four families whose children were injured in the Southport attack last summer. It marked day two of an inquiry into what happened leading up to the attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Hart Street. The families' identities will be protected throughout the inquiry and reporting restrictions mean we cannot share the children's identities or those of their family members. The families read out their witness statements from Liverpool Town Hall: Update: Date: 12:17 BST Title: Hearings formally adjourned until September but lawyers will continue working Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry Nicholas Moss KC tells the hearing room that, although the hearings are now paused for a summer break, it does not mean that work behind the scenes will stop during July and August. Lawyers for all of the various organisations and individuals ('Core Participants') are all involved in the process of disclosing information to the inquiry and this work continues. Inquiry chair Sir Adrian Fulford formally adjourns the hearings until 8 September. Update: Date: 12:14 BST Title: Families praised for courage in giving statements Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry Counsel to the inquiry, Nicholas Moss KC, praises "the immense courage and dignity' it's taken all of the parents who have prepared statements so far. He explains that the 'impact and commemorative' evidence will continue when the inquiry resumes on 8 September. More parents will address the inquiry then - laying bare the incalculable impact that the attack has had on all of their lives. There will also be commemorative statements about the three little girls who were murdered. These inquiry proceedings also act as the inquest process for those children. Update: Date: 12:11 BST Title: Mother of child C1 was in tears throughout statement Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry The mother of child C1 was in tears throughout her delivery of the statement but she kept going. She has now finished reading her witness statement. Update: Date: 12:10 BST Title: 'Our girls deserve and apology' and a promise changes will be made, says mum of child C1 Content: Jonny HumphriesReporting from the inquiry The mother of child C1 says she finds it "unbearable" sometimes to listen to her daughter's innocent thoughts around the perpetrator and attacks. She hasn't found the words for these conversations, she explains, but she is "terrified" that when her daughter learns of the findings of the inquiry that it will be "earth-shattering for her and we will have to begin her recovery again". "We are trying to shield her as much as possible whilst we understand this ourselves. She has every right to ask these questions. This inquiry must answer them. She deserves the truth, she deserves accountability. She deserves an girls deserve an apology." She says the apology needs to come with the promise changes will be made and this won't happen again. Child C1's parents say they are proud of her steady progress as they "continue to try and rebuild" their lives. "We are under no illusion though, that she and our family are forever changed by last year and will be managing the consequences of it for our lifetime. "To all of the girls: make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it — because you have every right to. We are all right here with you as you learn how to survive this. We will draw stars around your scars. And to my darling daughter: you are pure magic, we are so proud of you, and we love you so much." Update: Date: 12:08 BST Title: Child C1 asks parents how someone could carry out such attack Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry The mother of child C1 continues: "Despite what she carries, she manages to show incredible empathy and so much maturity in her thoughts of what happened that day. "She asks about the other girls and how everyone is coping. She tells me it's not my fault that she was there, and that she knows I'd just tried to plan something nice. "It completely shatters me to hear that. "She tries to understand how someone could do this, to children? It has been a living nightmare to support her through her thoughts and feelings of the person that did this. "Some days she is able to hold so much empathy and space for what he perhaps was feeling or went through. What his life may have been like to do this. "'Did he have friends? Were people not kind to him?,' she asks me, confused, 'Could he not talk to his parents if he had big feelings. Why did no one help him?' 'How did he get the knife? Did his parents know? Why didn't he get stopped? Did the police know?'" "I am left to parent her through questions with impossibly difficult answers.' Update: Date: 12:05 BST Title: 'Her body was stolen from her', mum of child C1 tells inquiry Content: Jonny HumphriesReporting from the inquiry The mother of Child C1 continues, and tells the inquiry that every day her daughter needs "an enormous amount of support" to do normal things. "In the shops we have to avoid the news section for fear of his face, or other images being on the front pages again. There is no respite. "The other day I even had to look online about references to knives or sharp objects in a children's film she wanted to watch at the cinema." She explains they have removed pointed knives from their home, but they still don't use the blunt tip ones, they have to replace them. "Life is full of constant triggers that we try to protect her and ourselves, from. She recalls the noise the knife made and the force that felt like punching. Her body shudders sporadically through the day and she looks at me. I know that she's having a flashback and feeling it all over again. She does this often when she looks at her scars. "Her scars are painful reminders of how brutally her body was violated. I sometimes tell her that, to me, her scars represent strength and how hard she fought to get back to us. I tell her that one day, she might look at them and feel the same. Proud of her actions that day. She disagrees. And I deep down so do I." The mother says she gets mad at encouraging her to accept the scars that she didn't ask for. "Her body was stolen from her. She is often sad and angry. Angry that someone was able to take such a special day from her. To harm her friends. To take their love of dance and joy of their summer away from them. To so brutally transform her body in moments and leave her with massive scarring that she will have to look at every day for the rest of her life." Update: Date: 12:02 BST Title: 'Our family has struggled to cope with intrusion from public' - mum of child C1 Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry The mother of child C1 continues. 'To go through something like this, with so many affected families and to receive the media and public attention that it has brought is often re-traumatising. "We must manage our days around news coverage, interviews, community events and what C1 may be exposed to," she says. "It has been an unwelcome and devastating battle to protect her during such a crucial first year of her recovery. We wanted to give her ownership of what happened to her. To give her time to come to terms with the complexities of her experience and the layers of trauma we must unpick. "We wanted to give her some power back after so much was taken from her. Allow her to tell her story if and when she was ready. We continue to protect her from this. "But online, images of her injured body were shared. TikToks of her injuries were made and shared without any consideration for the child that one day may see it. "C1's father and I have struggled to know how to cope with the intrusion. "To remain quiet and focused on our family, or to step into this and ensure that when she does look online as she gets older, that amongst all of the other adults speaking on her behalf, all of the noise shared by strangers who wanted followers for false stories - that she sees our voices, her mum and dad, telling the world of her bravery. "It is an impossible dice to roll, of which choice is for the best and so telling you today feels like an appropriate way to honour her story; but continue to protect her." Update: Date: 11:59 BST Title: 'She is trying to make sense of something that makes no sense' Content: Jonny HumphriesReporting from the inquiry "She may be a survivor of this attack, but she is still trying to survive this, every single day," the mother of C1 continues. She adds she and the child's father tell their daughter she was brave and they are proud of her actions that day. "She feels that in those moments it was her responsibility to help other girls and get them out of the building. She looks back at what she could or should have done differently and how this might have changed the outcome. "'I could have thrown the beads, so he slipped. We could have jumped out the window.' She struggles to understand how she survived." The mother explains her daughter is grieving, and she has panic attacks and flashbacks. She also suffers from "extreme separation anxiety, meaning she can't attend school full time". "She is trying to make sense of something that makes no sense. She needs us to guarantee her safety in a world where we can't. It is like sucking out poison. "I don't know where to put all the poison at the moment. I just carry it with me. It feels sacred and important to protect." The mother feels a duty to remember everything her daughter tells her in case she wants to hear about it in the future. "My heart is with all the parents who have had to carry their children and families through this nightmare, whilst trying to carry themselves. I always feel stronger and less alone, when I think [of] you all. "I am painfully aware of how close we came to losing her that day and in the days after. How lucky we are to have her with us is not lost on me." She says she is constantly overwhelmed with the relief her daughter is still here. "A feeling often replaced quickly with guilt, fear, grief and devastation at the magnitude of what we are left to carry her through; and the ongoing limitations to her life now." Update: Date: 11:56 BST Title: 'My daughter stood up after enduring more than 20 stab wounds' - child C1's mother Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry Warning: This post contains distressing and upsetting details The mother of child C1 says that as the attack continued her daughter fell forward and down the stairs. "She pulled herself up on the middle landing and tells me how she yelled for the other girl to follow her. But he started coming after her and she had to run. "She tells me how she couldn't breathe, and things were getting fuzzy — she had, we believe about five or six stab wounds by this point. Mainly in her arms and shoulders from defending herself upstairs. "Somehow, she emerges from the building — and we see her, for a brief moment on CCTV. Escaping. Finding help. Showing so much strength. "But her arm is badly injured and it's trailing behind, and he grabs it. In a flash of struggle, she's gone again. "For 11 seconds she is out of sight. And then there she is again. She has stood up after enduring another attack of more than 20 stab wounds to her back and shoulders. "She stumbles outside to the windows reaching for help. She eventually falls and soon after is carried to safety.' Update: Date: 11:54 BST Title: Child C1 told mother how she helped others during attack Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry Warning: This post contains distressing and upsetting details The mother of child C1's statement continues. "Recalling those moments in the studio; C1 tells me that she had tried to find a way out. There was only one way to safety, to find her dad and that was down the stairs. She tells us how the door was narrow, and everyone was trying to push through to follow Leanne (Lucas) out of the building. "She describes it as a stampede. In the chaos she was knocked over and found herself trapped and huddled with two other children at the top of the stairs. "She talks quietly of how she put her arms around the girls as he began to attack them. "She tells me with such clarity that a moment came where one of the girls was able to get up, she put the girl's hand on the handrail and told her to go — to get down the stairs - and she did. "The attack continued, she was still holding another girl, 'I crouched over the top of her',", she says. "I told her it would be okay. She recalls this with such purpose and determination, like it was her responsibility. "It happened so fast, but I helped them, I'm glad I could help them, mum," she tells me." Update: Date: 11:51 BST Title: Painful reality that our children fought alone - mother Content: Jonny HumphriesReporting from the inquiry The mother says the damage to her daughter from a 17cm knife was "catastrophic". She says: "The hours and days that followed the attack were a living hell. All of the families affected were brought together by the same event — but since the attack, our lived experiences and the experiences our girls had that day have all been very different. "To try and come to terms with what happened to her and her own experience, I have to tell myself often that more than one truth can exist here; and everyone involved has their own truth of what happened to them that day. She says the most painful of truths to them is that there were no adults to help her during both attacks: "She was only supported by other children." She is in "complete awe" of her daughter's courage and strength. "I would like to say that I don't for a moment doubt that the actions of the teachers there that day saved lives. They escaped to call the police and flag down help, they shielded other children. I am grateful for what they did for those girls. "But the uncomfortable and often unspoken truth of our own reality is that, when the adults left in those first moments, our daughter had to save herself. "It is these untold stories of remarkable strength and bravery that are missing," and these stories need to be heard, she says. She says before her daughter was picked up outside, she "had fought like hell to get herself out that building twice". "And that reality is painful - our children fought alone, they shielded each other, comforted each other, and helped each other and that must be remembered." Update: Date: 11:47 BST Title: Our brave daughter's fears are 'painfully real' now Content: Jonny HumphriesReporting from the inquiry The mother of child C1 describes her daughter as "a beautiful, articulate, fun loving little girl". "We call her 'our little hippie' because she was always completely carefree," the mother tells the inquiry. "She has boundless creative energy and is often barefoot. She is rarely the right way up, she cartwheels in the garden, the park, down the street and even the Tesco shopping aisle. "She is deeply intuitive of others. She trusts herself and has always had a strong sense of who she is." The mother recalls that before last summer "we would say 'feel the fear and do it anyway'. "Turn the fear of doing something new into excitement and go for it, you won't regret it, we would say. "We no longer say that." The mother says that her daughter's fears are "painfully real" now. The words the parents use has adapted. "Instead, we say 'we can do hard things' and 'teamwork makes the dream work'." She recalls that her daughter loved adventure and would try everything. "She went into the world ready to explore and without hesitation, because she believed, rightfully, that she would be safe," she adds. "She does not live that way anymore. I am here today to share some of her story and journey. "I want to tell you of her bravery and strength and how hard she is fighting, still now to survive. I am sharing these deeply personal moments, because you are responsible for what happens next. This inquiry must bring meaningful, substantial change to ensure no child will ever share her experience again. To ensure the safety of our children. "I want you to be in no doubt of the consequences of this horrific attack and what life now looks like for our daughter. I expect the weight of responsibility you hold to be felt in every question you ask and every recommendation you make. Update: Date: 11:41 BST Title: 'She is so much more than that moment of CCTV' Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry Warning: This post contains distressing and upsetting details The mother of C1 says the details of what happened to C1 were shared at sentencing, and the court and public listened to the "horrific details of her injuries and were shown CCTV footage of her being dragged back into the building, after trying to escape". "That is how she became known in this nightmare. The girl that was dragged back in," the mother says. "But she is so much more than that moment on CCTV." The mum says in those moments her daughter carried courage and determination to survive the thirty-three stab wounds she had. "After four days sedated and ventilated, she had to learn to sit, stand and walk again. She had intensive therapy and physio so that she could use her hands and fingers again. She is still physically recovering.' Update: Date: 11:40 BST Title: Inquiry about to hear from parents of child C1 Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry The inquiry will now hear from the parents of child C1. They are sitting at the witness stand. The little girl's mum is speaking. Update: Date: 11:39 BST Title: Grateful child survived but attacks changed everything Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry Reaching the end of the statement, the mother writes: 'C8 and all the people there that day have witnessed horrors that no one should ever see and I don't think I will understand the impact on her until she is grown up. "I am grateful beyond words that she survived. But what she went through, what she saw and what she continues to carry has changed everything.' The statement ends there. Update: Date: 11:37 BST Title: 'My daughter needs constant support, reassurance and protection' Content: Jonny HumphriesReporting from the inquiry The witness statement from the mother of child C8 continues: "Sleep remains a huge issue. My daughter struggles to fall asleep and it is often very late when she does. When she does, she continues to suffer from frequent nightmares and wakes in distress. Doctors visits are now traumatic, she is terrified of needles, the feeling of something sharp being close to her cannot be managed. "She is hyper aware of people she doesn't know, and has expressed fear of men, particularly those who are black, influenced by the traumatic associations she made during the incident. This has led to difficult but necessary conversations about race. School has been a real challenge. "I am so proud of my daughter for returning but she has struggled and has fallen significantly behind in her learning. She was already working hard to keep up before the incident, but now her anxiety and difficulty concentrating have made things worse. "She often has to leave the classroom when overwhelmed or upset. She tells me her mind wanders during lessons, she has felt scared that something is going to happen and unable to focus. Adjustments have been made at school, such as where she sits in the classroom but the trauma continues to interfere with her ability to learn. "As her main caregiver I have not been able to consistently return to work. My daughter's needs changed overnight. Where she was once an independent and joyful child she now needs constant support, reassurance and protection. "I have suffered from PTSD, flashbacks and anxiety. As well as insomnia, sleep paralysis and constant emotional exhaustion. For a long time every phone call sent me in to a panic. "Therapy has helped me to cope better but I still have a long road ahead. I have tried to shield her from the media coverage but it has not always been possible. "I feel helpless that I cannot do more to protect her from this, or from reminders that sometimes come from nowhere and can be triggering." Update: Date: 11:36 BST Title: C8 constantly scans for danger and needs to know where exits are - statement Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry 'Since that day, C8's life has completed changed," the statement continues. "She cannot be left alone and only feels safe with a very small number of people, immediate family or very close friends. "Where she was once eager to go off with her friends she now needs my support if it is somewhere public or unknown. Simple days out now need a level of safety planning that we would never have considered before. "Immediately after the incident, C8 could not even go in to the toilet at home alone. She had heard someone say he had gone into the toilets and whilst we know that to not be true her fear was real," the mother's lawyer reads. The lawyer reads that the child always needs to know where exits are and she scans places for danger constantly. She once saw a newspaper with a picture of the perpetrator on it and since then "groups of school children, especially older boys in uniform are a major trigger". "We have been unable to get on public transport to and from school since September for this reason," the statement adds. Update: Date: 11:32 BST Title: Mother of child C8: 'What I saw is something no parent should ever see' Content: Judith MoritzReporting from the inquiry The mother of child C8's statement goes on, read by her lawyer. She recalls receiving the phone call detailing what had happened that day. "I was at work when I received a panicked phone call from her friend's mum. "She couldn't find C8 or her daughter. That moment, the sound of fear in her voice and the panic I felt will never leave me. "I rushed to the scene and what I saw is something no parent should ever see. "C8 had sustained serious physical injuries including a stab wound to her arm and a cut to her face and chin. "She remembers the attack vividly — how he tried to get her face, how she saw other girls being hurt. She told me later she thought it had to be fake, because she couldn't believe something that terrible could really be happening.' Update: Date: 11:29 BST Title: The Southport attacks changed everything - mother of injured child Content: Jonny HumphriesReporting from the inquiry "Before July, my daughter was like any other seven-year-old little girl," the statement from the mother of child C8 begins. "She had an incredible energy and was full of life. She was kind-hearted, always looking out for others and especially sensitive to anyone being left out. She was lively around people she knew, and would come out of her shell once comfortable around new people, the lawyer reads. The mother had a "really close bond" with her daughter, spending lots of time together as a family. "She was independent and happy. C8 was really creative, she loved singing, dancing, art and activities like tennis and gymnastics. She enjoyed school and tried her best," the statement reads. "The incident in July changed everything. "C8 went to the event with her best friend. Her friend's mum took them and it was meant to be a fun way to start the summer holidays. She left that morning very excited."
Sky News
09-07-2025
- Sky News
Southport inquiry live: Mother saw CCTV of daughter being 'dragged back into building' - before being stabbed 20 more times
The Southport inquiry hears from families of children who were injured in the deadly dance class attack last July - with one mother describing watching footage of her daughter being dragged back into the building where the attacks happened after trying to escape. Follow the latest below. 12:14:32 Inquiry ends Now that we've heard all four impact statements, we're pausing our live coverage of the Southport inquiry. The parents of survivors of the attack revealed the "untold stories" of how their "hero" children escaped - you can scroll down in this blog to read their statements. The inquiry has now been adjourned until 8 September. Barrister Nicholas Moss says there is now a "great deal of critical work to be done". "Nobody should think that this is now a summer break for the inquiry or legal teams," he says. "The inquiry team will be continuing to work intensely for the rest of this month and August ahead of the resumption in September." 11:59:02 'Were people not kind to him?' Mother reveals daughter's empathy for attacker The mother says she is "painfully aware" of how close she came to losing her daughter that day and in the days after. She says she and her husband "have to second guess every moment to try and protect everyone" and "put massive scaffolding in place" to give their daughter some sense of normality. She also describes how pointed knives have been removed from their home and swapped for blunt tipped ones. "This doesn't remove the trauma though - we still don't use them, or have them in the cutlery drawer," she says. "Life is full of constant triggers that we try to protect her and ourselves, from." But sometimes the child "recalls the noise the knife made and the force that felt like punching". "Her body shudders sporadically through the day and she looks at me," the mother says. "I know that she's having a flashback and feeling it all over again. "She does this often when she looks at her scars. Her scars are painful reminders of how brutally her body was violated." The mother says she sometimes "gets mad" at herself for encouraging her daughter to accept the scars on her body. "She didn't ask for them. They weren't put there through surgery, or something she had any say over, or understanding of. Her body was stolen from her," she says. The mother says despite what her daughter carries "she manages to show incredible empathy and so much maturity in her thoughts of what happened that day". She says: "She asks about the other girls and how everyone is coping. She tells me it's not my fault that she was there, and that she knows I'd just tried to plan something nice. "It completely shatters me to hear that. She tries to understand how someone could do this, to children?" And when it comes to the perpetrator, the mother says "some days she is able to hold so much empathy and space for what he perhaps was feeling or went through". She adds: "What his life may have been like to do this. 'Did he have friends? Were people not kind to him?' She asks me, confused, 'Could he not talk to his parents if he had big feelings. Why did no one help him?' "'How did he get the knife? Did his parents know? Why didn't he get stopped? Did the police know?' "I am left to parent her through questions with impossibly difficult answers." The mother says she hasn't found the words for these conversations yet, but that one day her daughter will learn the outcome of this inquiry and she is "terrified that it will be earth shattering for her and we will have to begin her recovery again". 11:52:06 Mother saw CCTV of daughter being 'dragged back into building' after trying to escape - before being stabbed 20 more times C1's mother details how her daughter managed to briefly escape before she endured "another attack of more than twenty stab wounds to her back and shoulders". This, she says, was captured on CCTV and shown at sentencing, where the court and public listened to the "horrific details of her injuries and were shown CCTV footage of her being dragged back into the building, after trying to escape". "That is how she became known in this nightmare. The girl that was dragged back in," the mother says. "But she is so much more than that moment on CCTV." The 'uncomfortable truth' Wiping away tears, C1's mother says the "uncomfortable and often unspoken truth of our own reality is that, when the adults left in those first moments, our daughter had to save herself". "It is these untold stories of remarkable strength and bravery that are missing when we have heard other accounts of this day. I think it is vitally important that those girls are now heard - so that the inquiry can understand the complexities of this experience for everyone." 11:45:01 Girl who shielded other children from danger was stabbed 33 times The final impact statement is from the parents of C1, who say their daughter is a "beautiful, articulate, fun-loving little girl". They say this inquiry "must bring meaningful, substantial change to ensure no child will ever share C1's experience again". Recalling the moment of the attack, C1 told her parents that "she had tried to find a way out" of The Hart Space but was left "trapped and huddled with two other children" at the top of the stairs. "She talks quietly of how she put her arms around the girls as he began to attack them," C1's mother explains. "She tells me with such clarity that a moment came where one of the girls was able to get up, she put the girl's hand on the handrail and told her to go - to get down the stairs - and she did. "The attack continued, she was still holding another girl, 'I crouched over the top of her', she says. 'I told her it would be okay'. "She recalls this with such purpose and determination, like it was her responsibility. 'It happened so fast, but I helped them, I'm glad I could help them, mum,' she tells me." 11:34:01 Mother says daughter 'constantly scans people and places for danger' Describing the impact the attack has had on her daughter, the mother in her statement says she is "still hypervigilant". She says: "She must always know where the exits are. She constantly scans people and places for danger. "One time she saw a newspaper in a shop with the perpetrator's photo in school uniform and since then groups of school children, especially older boys in uniform are a major trigger. "We have been unable to get on public transport to and from school since September for this reason." The mother also says her daughter's "sleep remains a huge issue". She says C8 "struggles to fall asleep and it is often very late when she does". "When she does she continues to suffer from frequent nightmares and wakes in distress," she says. "Doctors visits are now traumatic, she is terrified of needles, the feeling of something sharp being close to her cannot be managed. "She is hyper aware of people she doesn't know, and has expressed fear of men, particularly those who are black, influenced by the traumatic associations she made during the incident. "This has led to difficult but necessary conversations about race." The mother also says school has been a "real challenge" and she "often has to leave the classroom when overwhelmed or upset". "She tells me her mind wanders during lessons, she has felt scared that something is going to happen and unable to focus," she says. The mother says her daughter "was once an independent and joyful child" and she "now needs constant support, reassurance and protection". "I have suffered from PTSD, flashbacks and anxiety. As well as insomnia, sleep paralysis and constant emotional exhaustion," she adds. "For a long time every phone call sent me in to a panic. Therapy has helped me to cope better but I still have a long road ahead." 11:28:01 'That moment, the sound of fear in her voice and the panic I felt will never leave me' We're now hearing from the mother of C8, who says she was "like any other seven-year-old little girl" before the attack. "She had an incredible energy and was full of life. She was kind-hearted, always looking out for others, and especially sensitive to anyone being left out." She says that day last July "changed everything" after what was meant to be "a fun way to start the summer holidays". "I was at work when I received a panicked phone call from her friend's mum. She couldn't find C8 or her daughter. That moment, the sound of fear in her voice and the panic I felt will never leave me. "I rushed to the scene and what I saw is something no parent should ever see. C8 had sustained serious physical injuries including a stab wound to her arm and a cut to her face and chin. "She remembers the attack vividly - how he tried to get her face, how she saw other girls being hurt. "She told me later she thought it had to be fake, because she couldn't believe something that terrible could really be happening." 'She couldn't even go into the toilet alone' In the aftermath, C8's mother says she cannot be left alone and only feels safe with immediate family or very close friends. "Where she was once eager to go off with her friends, she now needs my support if it is somewhere public or unknown. Simple days out now need a level of safety planning that we would never have considered before. "Immediately after the incident, C8 could not even go into the toilet at home alone. She had heard someone say he had gone into the toilets and whilst we know that to not be true, her fear was real." 11:23:01 'Some days continue to feel so difficult' The statement goes on to say changes have been made at school and child Q now sits where she can see the door so she can always be aware of who is entering the classroom. On a few occasions, Q has been unable to attend school due to her anxiety, explaining this as her "tummy feels funny and hiding under the dining table at home". Regular therapy sessions were arranged for the child through victim support and she was "able to build a strong relationship with her caseworker and felt confident enough to talk openly about her emotions and worries". In her statement, the mother says her daughter "is continuing to move forward". "I too have had regular therapy sessions since the incident; this is currently ongoing," she explains. The mother says she initially took some time off work to support Q and has since changed her job role to one that fits more with school hours so she can be there for her child. "Some days continue to feel so difficult, trying to process everything happening around us. "There were times when I didn't know which way to turn." She goes on to describe her daughter as a "strong, brave and beautiful little girl who has so much love and support around her to get her through the tough days". 11:20:01 'How will I ever be normal again?' The inquiry resumes with an impact statement written by the mother of Child Q and read out by a representative of the family. She says that Child Q has always been an "anxious little girl" who "struggled socially", especially outside school. This made her attendance at the Southport dance class a "significant step for her", her mother writes. "It took a great deal of encouragement on our part to help her feel confident enough to go. She went into the venue feeling happy and I remember leaving with a sense of pride knowing that she had overcome the initial worries that she had felt." She then writes that witnessing children "running from the building, screaming and fearing for their lives" was "the most horrific experience of my life". "What I saw on that day will stick with me forever, I constantly have flashbacks and re-live what happened." She writes that her daughter has become "very withdrawn" since the attack and has asked her parents, "How will I ever be normal again?" "She is even more anxious about not being with us or being dropped off at another event without us. She is scared when she hears a siren or sees an emergency vehicle. "She is still unable to sleep alone and struggles with falling asleep. She always asks for doors to be closed when we enter or leave a room, this helps her to feel safe." 11:04:01 'Our daughter is our hero' Addressing the impact of the attack, the father of C3 says his daughter still "bears the scars, both physically and emotionally, of that terrible day". "We know that she is only a small way down the path that life will take her, and that obstacles will continue to present themselves along the way," he says. He says his daughter has had difficulty going to sleep at night, a fear of loud noises, that she experiences flashbacks of the attack and feels the need to look over her shoulder scanning for potential danger when she leaves the house. "Life is certainly not like it was before," he adds. "Some days are good, and others less so. "We remain a strong family unit, but dealing with what happened that day has been unbelievably challenging for every member of our family." He says that despite what C3 has been through, she remains "the positive, caring, funny, enthusiastic, courageous girl she always was". "She has no self-pity about what happened to her. She wears her scars with a dignity and defiance that is remarkable. We have said from the beginning that this trauma will not define our daughter." He adds: "We couldn't be prouder of her. She is our hero."
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Southport killer's brother denied full inquiry access
The brother of Southport killer Axel Rudakubana will be blocked from accessing sensitive evidence about the victims of the attack after their families expressed "grave concerns" to a public inquiry. Dion Rudakubana has been listed as a core participant in the Southport Inquiry, who are usually legally represented and are able to ask questions of participants - those deemed to have a "significant interest" in proceedings - are usually entitled to be given all the of the inquiry Sir Adrian Fulford, said he was "unreservedly persuaded" that allowing the killer's brother full access would act as a "major obstacle" for the families of the victims. But he stated this should not infer any criticism of Mr families whose children were injured in the Southport attack last year are giving evidence to the public inquiryThe two-phase inquiry is taking place at Liverpool Town is examining events surrounding the murders of Alice Aguiar, nine; Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven; and six-year-old Bebe King, as well as the attempted murders of eight other children and two adults. Some of the families and one adult victim had expressed concern about Dion Rudakubana being able to listen to impact statements about the effects of 29 July 2024 - and commemorative pen portraits about the children involved. In a ruling published by the inquiry, Sir Adrian, a retired senior judge, wrote: "These anxieties have been expressed in the strongest terms." He said the victims and families were concerned about Mr Rudakubana being able to learn their identities and "highly sensitive and distressing information about the injuries sustained and medical treatment".Sir Adrian said that while it was usual that core participants had full access to all the evidence disclosed and were able to attend all parts of the hearing, he had "broad discretion" as chairman of the inquiry. He also stressed that his decision should not be taken as any criticism of Dion Rudakubana and added that no "adverse inference" should be drawn. "The basis of this ruling is the wholly understandable impacts on the victims and their families, all of whom are traumatised, of a member of [Rudakubana's] family having access to sensitive materials concerning the detail of the attack and its impact on the victims," he ruled that Dion Rudakubana would not have access to any advanced disclosure of evidence from after the time his brother got into the taxi that took him to the scene of the attack in Southport's Hart will also not be served with the victim impact statements or pen portraits of the children attacked, and will not be permitted to attend the inquiry or listen over a video link to those parts of the proceedings. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Scottish Sun
08-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
Southport killer's actions were ‘mercilessly calculated' and among the worst in UK's history, inquiry says
Monster was flagged to terrorist programme three times before horror MISSED CHANCES Southport killer's actions were 'mercilessly calculated' and among the worst in UK's history, inquiry says Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A PUBLIC inquiry into whether Southport triple killer Axel Rudakubana could have been stopped began today. The 18-year-old stabbed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, to death on July 29 last year. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Elsie Dot was stabbed to death at a dance class Credit: PA 5 Bebe King, 6, was among the youngsters stabbed to death Credit: PA 5 Alice Dasilva Aguiar was also left dead in the rampage Credit: PA A public inquiry will now look at whether the attack could or should have been prevented given what was known about the killer. Retired senior judge Sir Adrian Fulford, who is leading the review, has made the decision not to name the killer and instead refer to him as AR. In his opening statement, the chairman said Rudakubana's actions were 'almost unimaginable but nonetheless mercilessly calculated'. Following the horror, it emerged the killer had a "sickening interest in death" and had made chilling searches for school massacres before carrying out the rampage. His morbid fascination saw him flagged three times to anti-terror programme Prevent but no further action was taken. As a result, the killer was free to storm the Hart Space community centre and begin senselessly knifing terrified children and adults. A rapid review into his contact with Prevent found his case should have been kept open. It also concluded Rudakubana should have been referred to Channel, another anti-terror scheme. He was jailed for life with a minimum of 52 years following the horrific triple murder but will likely never be released. The killer pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and ten of attempted murder. He also admitted two terror offences after police found ricin and an Al-Qaeda manual at his home. Despite this, cops are still not treating the attack as terror-related. The Southport Inquiry will hold its first live hearings at Liverpool Town Hall this week. 5 Rudakubana was jailed for life Credit: PA Sir Adrian will lead the probe, which has been split into two phases. The first will focus on the circumstances leading to the attack and AR's contact with Prevent. He will then examine how young people are "drawn into extreme violence" during the second phase. Families of the three victims will begin giving evidence tomorrow morning. Opening the inquiry, Sir Adrian said today: "As the Government at the highest levels has recognised, the perpetrator is responsible for one of the most egregious crimes in our country's history. "However hard we try, ordinary language simply fails to reflect the enormity of what he did on 29 July last year. "None of the most powerful adjectives even begin to suffice: there are no words that adequately describe what occurred and I am not going to try (and then fail) to find them. "Instead, I simply observe that his crimes impose the heaviest of burdens on our society to investigate speedily but comprehensively how it was possible for AR to have caused such devastation. "To analyse the decisions that were or were not taken by multiple individuals and organisations given his deteriorating and deeply troubling behaviour; to identify without fear or favour all of the relevant failings; and to make comprehensive, sensible and achievable recommendations to ensure we have the best chance of intervening with and preventing others who may be drawn to treating their fellow human beings in such a cruel and inhuman way." AR's first referral to Prevent came in 2019 when he was aged 13 after he used computers at his own school to search for material on a school massacre. What happened in Southport? THE horror unfolded last summer as 26 excited children gathered for the dance class to kick off the summer holidays. The two-hour event had been organised by instructors Leanne Lucas and Heidi Liddle at The Hart Space. Just three miles away, Rudakubana had armed himself with a 20cm knife. Chilling footage showed the killer pacing outside his home before being picked up in a taxi. Just 30 minutes later, he arrived at the community centre as the children sang Taylor Swift songs and made friendship bracelets. Leanne opened a window due to the summer heat and saw the masked teen outside but thought nothing of it. But seconds later, the door opened and Rudakubana stormed into the class and began attacking children and adults at random. Screams rang out as the killer teen systematically made his way through the room stabbing his victims with the black-handled Cerbera kitchen knife. Hero dance teacher Leanne was stabbed in the arms, neck and back as she used her body to shield young girls from the knifeman. She screamed at the children to "run away" Her colleague Heidi Liddle escaped uninjured after bravely locking some of the children inside a toilet. Businessman Jonathan Hayes, who was working in the office next door, was attacked after he ran inside and tried to stop the carnage. At 11.57am - 12 minutes after the rampage began - police stormed the scene. Officers found Rudakubana holding the large, bloodied kitchen knife and he was arrested. After the horror attack, the teen said "I'm glad they're dead" as he was held in a custody suite. Two years later, he was flagged again after viewing material on previous terror attacks - including those in London in 2017. Although there were no concerns over a particular ideology or religious hatred, his obsession with violence had caused fears. But he was not found to have posed a terrorism risk and therefore did not reach the threshold for intervention by Prevent. Rachael Wong, director at law firm Bond Turner, representing the families, said: "We know that nothing the inquiry reveals or subsequently recommends will change the unimaginable loss felt by the families of Elsie, Alice and Bebe, but we all now have a responsibility to ensure that something like this never happens again. "We will be doing all we can to assist the chair through the inquiry and uncover the truth. "It is only through intense public scrutiny that real change can be effected."
