07-06-2025
Southport killer Axel Rudakubana receiving minimum legal entitlements while in prison
Southport killer Axel Rudakubana is currently receiving the legal minimum while serving 52 years at HMP Belmarsh, the ECHO has learned. The teenage killer horrifically killed three children in Southport on July 29 last year when he walked into a Taylor Swift-themed workshop shortly before midday.
The then-17-year-old stabbed 11 children, killing three girls and injuring the rest, as well as attacking two adults in the rampage. Following his arrest at the scene, ricin was found in his bedroom at his family home in Banks, Lancashire, as well as a plethora of weapons and a second identical knife to that he used in the attack wrapped in his duvet.
It further transpired how the murderer had previously been reported to Prevent on three occasions as well as being stopped by his own dad from getting in a taxi destined for Range High School just seven days prior to the attack on Hart Street, Southport.
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He was sentenced to life imprisonment in January this year, with him being kept in HMP Belmarsh, a high-security category A facility.
But since being locked up, the killer has allegedly attacked a prison officer, hospitalising him and forcing him to take time off work.
Rudakabana was in his prison cell at the time of the attack, and allegedly used boiling water from a kettle in the room, as reported by Sky News. He then allegedly threw the boiling water over the officer through a hatch in his cell door.
The prison officer was taken to hospital as a precaution but only suffered minor injuries.
Since then, Rudakubana has been given the legal minimum entitlements a prisoner can have, which restricts the amount of time he spends outside his cell and what he has access to.
It is understood the legal minimum means he can still purchase items from the canteen using money either earnt at the prison or sent to him by family members but spends limited time outside of his cell and is brought items to where he is staying.
National chair of the Prison Officers Association, Mark Fairhurst, told the ECHO: "It is normal for every prisoner to have access to prison canteen items that they may purchase from private cash or prison earnings.
"Restricting this would probably lead to a legal challenge under the human rights act so the service would not be able to remove these privileges from prisoners."
A Met Police spokesperson told the ECHO: "The Met is investigating after a prison officer was subject to a serious assault at HMP Belmarsh on the afternoon of Thursday, 8 May.
"The prison officer was taken to hospital where he was assessed before being discharged later the same day.
"The investigation is being led by officers from the Prison Investigation Team on the Met's South East Command Unit."
