Council's Southport attack probe could be scrapped

A Lancashire-led investigation into the contact between local agencies and Southport killer Axel Rudakubana could be scrapped, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands.

The news comes after the release of the first of two reports of the national public inquiry set up in the wake of the murders, in July 2024, of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine.

Lancashire County Council and Lancashire Police were among several public bodies whose involvement with Rudakubana before the attack was scrutinised.

Twelve recommendations were made to the council in response to the report's findings, while police received seven.

In January 2025, less than a week after 18-year-old Rubakubana, from Banks in Lancashire, admitted the murders, it was announced that a local child safeguarding practice review (CSPR) would take place.

Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer had said within 24 hours of the guilty pleas being entered that an independent public inquiry would be carried out.

As a result, Lancashire County Council had to liaise with the government over how – and whether – the national inquiry would affect the local review.

The Lancashire CSPR was paused shortly afterwards.

While the review has not officially been cancelled, the expectation among the agencies spearheading the process is understood to be that the public inquiry will supersede the work they had been planning to undertake.

A final decision on the future of the CSPR will not be made until the national inquiry concludes.

Inquiry chair Sir Adrian Fulford said on Monday that he expected its second phase to take roughly as long as the first, which lasted 12 months.

As part of CSPR – commissioned by the Lancashire Children's Safeguarding Assurance Partnership – a trio of experts were set to examine the roles of the raft of services that dealt with Rudakubana in the years before the attack.

The partnership – made up of Lancashire County Council, Lancashire Constabulary and the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board – exists to improve how agencies work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

It requests CSPRs in an attempt to learn from incidents in which children have been harmed – and to reduce the risk of similar cases happening in future.

A spokesman for the county's CSAP said: "As a partnership, CSAP remains firmly committed to ensuring that safeguarding practices continue to be effective across our work.

"Last year, we made the difficult but necessary decision to pause the CSPR, recognising that the public inquiry rightly took precedence.

"While Phase 1 of [that process] has now concluded, it's important to note that Phase 2 has just commenced, with the terms of reference outlining additional areas for examination.

"Once both phases are completed, CSAP will undertake a thorough review of the recommendations arising from each phase.

"This will allow us to give thoughtful consideration to the resumption of the CSPR, ensuring that any further learning can be integrated to benefit our collective safeguarding practice moving forward."

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