Southport Attack: One Year On

0:02The Telegraph.

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0:45A year ago today, 17-year-old Axel Rudicabana walked into a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in this area of Southport, just off Hart Street, where I'm standing now. In a 12-minute knife rampage, he killed three girls, Alice Da Silva Agua, nine, B.B. King, six, and Elsie Dot Stankham, seven, as well as injuring countless others. In January, he was sentenced to 52 years in prison. We've returned today for what is a solemn occasion, the first anniversary. No tributes have been left here on the request of the family. we can only tell really that it happened here by looking at these three pink bows that have been tied to a local lamppost.

1:32There's even a notice on a wall here on Hart Street by the council saying please do not lay tributes. This is clearly not a scene that the families of these three young victims want to remember. They don't want to commemorate here and a little later we will be going to the town hall where a three-minute silence will be held. We have returned briefly to the small industrial park where this atrocity took place. On the gates there, there's a very simple tribute. There's a floral wreath hanging on the gates and one of the businesses has declared, our hearts are with you, we're not opening today out of respect for what happened here 12 months ago.

2:18What struck me about being here is just the ordinary residential nature of this street. I mean, as a mum, this is precisely the kind of place where you would bring your daughters or your sons in the summer holidays to have some fun. We're surrounded by terraced and semi-detached houses. It's extremely quiet. People are just going about their daily lives. If we think back to the day that this happened, it was a blistering, hot summer's day. And really within minutes of this atrocity unfolding, the scene behind me became something that the locals here couldn't believe they were witnessing. We're going to be hearing from a reporter that was on the scene in the immediate aftermath of what happened, a man who was reporting for the Liverpool Echo, who will tell us what it was like that day.

3:11but we're just here just to remember what happened and also to move into the centre of Southport a little later to see how this town is coming to terms with what happened, coming to terms with their grief and trying to remember the three young girls that were killed here. Let's just remind ourselves how the horrendous events of that day played out and the aftermath.

3:39Let me just read out this Merseyside police statement in full for you. They said we can confirm that emergency services are in Southport following a major incident this morning, Monday the 29th of July. They say at around 11.50 they were called to a property on Hart Street to reports of a stabbing. There are a number of reported casualties and more details will be confirmed when possible. They said armed police have detained a male and seized a knife and he has been taken to a police station. A third child has died in the stabbing attack in the British seaside town of Southport. The girls were six, seven and nine years old.

4:13Five other children in a critical condition in hospital as well as two adults. The children were attending a holiday dance class, a specially themed workshop that celebrated Taylor Swift when they were stabbed. I'm looking at the front page of the Daily Telegraph, and it's got these pictures of these beautiful girls. I mean, it makes me well up. I'm struggling to talk about this story. I was in tears about it last night, listening to an eyewitness talk through what he observed. It's a middle-aged woman, and she's got, I presume, one of her child in the passenger seat, and in the back there's, like, four or five more kids, all in the back, covered in blood.

4:51I open the door, and honestly, like, there's this girl, which will probably stay with me for the rest of my life, and she was completely out of it. I can't explain to you how horrific it is, what I saw. Got these beautiful kids, BB King, 6, Elsie Stancombe, 7, Alice Aguiar, 9. A community in mourning. How many more children are going to find our streets, Prime Minister? How many more children? Time for change, Starmer. Come on, it's needed. How many more children? Is it mine next? Bye-bye. You've got your photos, off you go. Make a real change, Prime Minister. Make a real change! Make it, yes!

5:36Our children! Go away! A number of officers injured as they dealt with what was described as serious disorder. Was this guy being monitored by the security services? Some reports say he was. others less sure. It is extremely important that people don't spread damaging misinformation online. I just wonder whether the truth is being withheld from us. I don't know. Masked up, thugs is some of the cold, and clashing with police, throwing bins, burning bins and other bits of rubble and missiles, anything they can get their hands off to try and attack this mosque and the police. Men will rise up. We're always going to rise up.

6:22You've brought this war on our shores. Axel Rudakabana is 17, British, born in Wales and of Rwandan heritage. The community of Southport had to suffer twice. A gang of thugs got on trains and buses, went to a community that is not their own, a community grieving the most horrific tragedy, and then proceeded to throw bricks at police officers who just 24 hours earlier had been having to deal with an attack on children in their community. So we were just walking along this road in Southport and we bumped into a lovely lady called Sylvia. Sylvia, lovely to meet you. And we were just about to speak to the local imam and we saw you there and you said the best place to come to reflect on what happened a year ago is here and we're at an organisation called Compassion Acts.

7:21And Sylvia, you've been involved in the organisation because it basically fosters good community relations, community cohesion and interfaith dialogue. And people have come here today to take comfort in the surroundings. We've got some calming music playing. We've got images of the three girls up on this screen. Now, Gayna, you were very emotional earlier. Yes. You're local to this area. What are you feeling today? Those three kids should be here today because there were only kids and the way things have gone on, I think it's terrible for what's happened to those beautiful little kids. This place has given me a lot of love.

8:05I met a lot of people because I get anxiety really bad and it's helped me a lot. but those three kids, it's so heartbreaking. And you're from very close to where it happened. What do you remember about that day, Gayna? It's hard to say really. It happened down Arch Street. I didn't know there was a dancing school down there and those three kids were just dancing. It shouldn't have happened at all. how do you think the community in Southport has reacted to what's happened? It's very sad to hear about all this. When it happened I didn't know until my daughter said she wanted me to go and help her with the children because her partner is two nieces got stabbed but lucky enough they're alright but they still have the flashbacks.

9:02So sorry your daughter's partner's nieces were involved? Yeah, they got stabbed, but they're all right now at the moment. You know, but they still... Because she had to go to Alderaan towards me, and I was going singing. I shouldn't have done that, but... I still feel sorry for all these little girls. I don't know. It's just so sad what's happened, and I couldn't believe it. You know, I still think they should be here today, but what can you do? So your daughter said, can you come and help? In the aftermath, to try and calm... He was just going to Alderay to see his nieces, like, you know, but she had to go every day and stop with them there.

9:42Of course. And how did it feel for something so horrific to happen so close to you? I don't know. It was so sad because she's very good. You know, she's got three children of her own and she goes to Alderay with the middle one. She's got cerebral palsy, like, so it must have been our prayer. It was really, really, really sad for everyone that day. And Sylvia, the other feature of this was the unrest that happened afterwards in Southport. Absolutely, because the people around here were so aware of the helicopters, they were so aware of the noise, they were so aware of the horses going down the streets.

10:26and so still even now I've got friends who have actually left Southport today to be away from the memory of last year. What do you remember of it, Sylvia? Well, I live a little bit further away but the day afterwards were the riots. I mean you're very much aware of it on the television anyway at the time but the next day was the riots that were happening and that was scary but it was also scary because you realise that it was so unnecessary and of course then people were talking about how the trains, you know, there was a lot more people on the trains of the evening of the second day coming into Southport purposely to cause a fuss, you know, to cause, what do they want to cause?

11:15I don't know what they wanted to cause but it was just so hard to have to watch what was going on but we were seeing it on the television ourselves because we were too far away. But to see the ambulances burning. But then I came down, on that second day before the riots, I came down to see the flowers. I mean, the flowers, they were just astonishing. Just astonishing. And people were coming, they were coming from the south of England with flowers to Southport. You know, that emotion that was generated throughout the UK of this event and it is because they were so small but it was so unnecessary the violence that took place afterwards so it wasn't necessary how do you think southport's coped with this gainer because an event like this happens and it taints a town and the town doesn't deserve to be tainted by this i think southport is going to take a long long time to get back to normal it shouldn't have happened at all and I have seen the flowers and the teddy bears and the beautiful pictures on them like the Atkinson Centre in town shouldn't have happened at all but do you feel the community has come together yes tell me a little bit about that because we want to be uplifting today you know it can't all be about the atrocity some something must have been gained from this if the community here has come together yes we just help each other out really in the community yeah and well if anybody's sad you know we're going out or they need any help do you see people being still sad to this day what sometimes people just break down yeah they can do yeah and it's so sad when what's happened and you've just got to try and get on with life but it's never going to be the same.

13:10Sylvia, I think the fact that King Charles came to town had made a big difference to the people here, recognising how far this terrible atrocity had reached. But not only that, the churches come together. I mean, like today, the churches and the mosque and the synagogues are open. And this is what I was doing today. I was visiting different ones that are about, and that's when I got as far as the mosque. But the mosque itself, afterwards, the mullah, on the Sunday after the event, he stood at the traffic lights, and every time a car stopped, he gave somebody a flower. The respect that the mullah has gained from the people of the town, and he opened his doors, I think, I don't know if it was on two or three occasions, but I went on one, and there must have been two or three hundred people there.

14:04and there were no chairs on the mosque floor of course because that's where they pray but and they were there listening to what the police had to say and it was very very moving and there was a lot of respect. Any final thoughts ladies? Sylvia? I haven't got any final thoughts except that keeping their memory I don't think anybody will forget that lives here but as with everything, you know, memories fade, but the love of those children that they generated during this last year will always continue for many, many years to come. It's inevitable. What a lovely final thought. Thank you to Gayna, Anne and Sylvia for speaking to The Daily Tea today.

14:53The days after the attack proved a second tragedy. Police would only say that the assailant had been born in Cardiff. There was then a great deal of disinformation spread online, suggesting that in fact the killer had been an illegal immigrant, that he had been a Muslim, all of which proved later to be untrue. We then saw riots on the streets of Southport and a local mosque was attacked. I'm here with Imam Ibrahim Hussein, who is here at the Southport Mosque and Islamic cultural centre, the local mosque. It's a difficult day today isn't it Mr Hussain? What are your thoughts on this first anniversary of the atrocity that happened just down the road?

15:34Well our thoughts are obviously with the family who didn't want a lot of fuss but we praying for them and we are keeping our thoughts with them this day. And what do you remember from that day? It was a day where we heard that there is an awful incident took place and then later on we discovered that there is few kids have lost their lives so when we were hoping to support the family and be be there for them we faced a lot of what you know what what what's happened yes well how difficult did it then become because we then had a tragedy hijacked by people wanting to make it a multicultural issue, rumours of Ruda Cabana being a Muslim, being an immigrant.

16:30In fact, he was born to Rwandan parents, brought up in Cardiff, and the parents were practising Christians. How difficult was it for the Muslim community of this area at that point when disinformation is flying around and you've got riots on the streets? Well, you said it. It's disinformation and it's also false. and a lot of viciousness as well of how they put the, you know, very quickly move from inventing a name to the guy and then inventing a religion to the guy. And then he say, he comes to this mosque. And then the next thing was, we have pushed him to do whatever he did. So obviously you can see all this is in the mix.

17:12But however, these people are bent on creating trouble and spreading hurt in the community, which they managed to do. Because a lot of people were upset. A lot of people were obviously affected by what they have done. There is a time and a place for everything. so they could have at least delayed it until we discover what the true information is. We subsequently discovered that Ruda Kabbana had been referred to the PREVENT programme. He had downloaded al-Qaeda training manuals. There was a suggestion of a leaning into a degree of Islamic extremism. What was your response when you heard that? Well, let's say he is a Muslim.

18:03Let's say he did what he did because he's twisted. Why should that reflect on the rest of the community, which are peaceful people? Everybody here, and that showed on the following day where everybody came to support us and to be, you know, standing next to us. It shows that we are not troubled as they're trying to make up. So even if the guy was what they said he was, There was absolutely no reason to take that on the whole community and also terrorise the whole neighbourhood in here and hijack the memory and the time where it should have been spent thinking and helping the families throughout their trouble.

18:51We've just been speaking. In fact, the reason we're speaking to you is we saw a lady called Sylvia here. She's got good relations with you, good interfaith relations. She told us something that you did in the aftermath of the atrocity and that's that you stood on the corner of the street and you handed out flowers? Can you tell me a bit about that and why you did that? That was later on. We don't know how to thank the community for their support, for their help, for their messages, for their kind words, for their love. They were here in droves and they're saying to us, you've always been here, you're always part of this community.

19:27There is absolutely no... We don't blame you for anything. And we know you've got prayers in three minutes. What kind of prayers will you be saying in this community for the girls that were killed? Well, obviously they are in our thoughts. The girls, needlessly, they lost their lives and needlessly people hijacked their memory and the good time we should have spent with the family. So we're just thinking about them and we're telling them that we are with you. if they need any help, any support, anything from us, we are here for them. And they know that, by the way. Imam Hussain, I know you've got prayers to conduct now.

20:05We'll let you go. Thank you for joining me. Thank you very much indeed. Coming up, we're heading to the three-minute silence that's going to be held in the town centre of Southport and also speaking to Ben Haslam, the Liverpool Echo reporter and local man who was there within minutes of the atrocity unfolding.

20:34Ben Haslam, who is on the Liverpool Echo, joins us now. Ben, you were on the scene from the very beginning, not just in your capacity as a reporter, but also because your father runs a business around the corner, you live around the corner, so you were extremely familiar with this whole area. When did you first find out what was happening? so we'd just actually gone out on our lunch break and my phone just started blowing up i was getting messages phone calls from friends sources my dad saying you know i've never seen so many police in southport before i've never seen so many police going down the main roads in southport and then after repeats phone calls with my dad i proceeded to ring most fire and rescue service because they were actually first on the scene as the emergency services and then spoke to the Merside Police as well, who gave me a broad idea of the severity of it.

21:30My dad actually spoke to a father of a child who was in the room that day. He walked around just to see what was actually going on because at this point it wasn't entirely clear. And then I basically broke out into a run back to the office. I was about 10 minutes away, burst in, spoke to police again, who it was more a case of yes or no questions so you know have children been starved yes has there been an arrest yes is it ongoing yes and then myself my colleague uh patrick edrich our crime reporter we quickly drove down to southpaw so it's about a 45 minute drive so at this point it was probably about quarter past 20 past 12 i was kind of notified of what was going on within 10 minutes of it happening, five minutes of it happening.

22:21And then we arrived at the scene and it was just, it was just bedlam. So the, just remind us when the attack happened. So you were on the scene, how soon after it happened? So it happened shortly before midday on July 29th. It was probably, it was about 20 past one, I'd say. So, you know, we're talking an hour and 20 minutes. It might have been earlier it might have been slightly later but considering the the actual journey it was it almost felt it felt a bit surreal being there you know that soon after it happens you know the cordon was tiny it was bizarre being that close to such a serious incident and it was only after we arrived kind of 10 minutes later that they actually extended the cordon and then it got extended again but first arriving it was it was almost like you were at the entrance of this business park.

23:12I think there was at that point there were still parents there. How soon did it become obvious or how soon were you aware that there had been deaths? It's difficult to say looking back on it now. You get a feeling when someone who covers breaking incidents a lot for the Liverpool Echo and have done for the last four years, you get a gut feeling when you go to scenes like this and just being there and seeing, you know, we arrived and there was just police cars, ambulances, fire engines abandoned in the road. There was people crying. I saw paramedics and firefighters crying as they walked past their vehicles.

23:52You know, you could see the severity of this. It was truly horrific. And, you know, I vividly remember later that evening, it became aware that there were fatalities. And then the next day, finding out that a third child had died And it was, yeah, it was a lot. I mean, Ben, Gordon and I have covered these sorts of stories. It's completely unimaginable even now to think of the scene that was unfolding there. For as you say, you've got your father there speaking to a parent outside and how horrifying that must have been. You're there also having to do a job. And we've both been in that situation.

24:33You're trying to find out what's happened. And it's on your patch as well, which I imagine was pretty difficult. Just describe that area because the geography of all this and the idea of these young girls just being in a summer holiday camp, it must have been a completely alien environment to what you were used to knowing that area so well. So, yeah, I've lived in Southport almost the entirety of my life, so I'm 25 now. I've probably spent three years at university and then a few months in London. For the rest of my life, I've lived in Southport and no one I knew, I didn't know, the heart space was there.

25:12None of my friends knew the heart space was there. This is a tightly packed residential area just full of semi-detached three-bed houses with a tiny little business park with four businesses down there. It's just so indescript almost. It's a lovely area. It's full of families. Since this happened, I've spoken to many of the families that live down there who have children themselves. and you would just never you know i know it's very almost cliche to say but you just never expect anything remotely close to what happened happening in that area you know that it was a space where young children would go to spend their free time or parents would take their children who weren't quite old enough for school for classes this was a taylor swift themed workshop It was something so meant to be filled with joy, so much joy and innocence.

26:08It was just, yeah, it was completely bizarre that he even knew that this place existed. Ben, at what point did you start to become aware that grief was turning to unrest? I think that the following day when UK Starn was coming, I'd heard grumbles that there was going to be some form of protest in the town. We quickly found out there was going to be a vigil, and the vigil was meant to bring people together, which it did. But when Sir Keir Starmer arrived on Hart Street, it was tense. It was really, really tense. There was people there recording. There was people there crying. It was a very emotionally charged situation.

26:53and then when he laid the wreath and people started shouting, that was when it was like a switch had flicked. It felt like there was unrest there. And then as the day went on, I was quickly becoming more aware of how big this alleged protest was going to be. The vigil was moving, it was touching, and it was everything that I think the town wanted at that time. but then as myself and one of my colleagues made our way back to close to heart street which is you know for context here the unrest the disorder the riots is you know a three minute walk from the scene so we were at the scene and then we could see a lot of people dressed in black walking to where this riot unfolded on the corner ofst luke's road and sausage road and that you could see that it'd been kind of boiling up throughout the day was there the perception at that point Ben that the Prime Minister had mishandled his visit to Southport that day?

27:54I think some people saw it like that but I think largely it was noted that he had come and he had wanted to be there. It's difficult to say what other people were feeling just because there were so many people there, there were so many journalists when he arrived, there was a lot of people there recording to post on YouTube and TikTok and social media and then you also just had the people who wanted to be there to pay their respects and lay flowers you know it was a handful of people who shouted when he was there it wasn't you know we're not talking 50 people all shouting at the prime minister it was it was a handful of people and as footage that appeared online afterwards showed there was one woman who was really upset who said that their daughter was was friends with one of the three children killed people were upset it was a situation where There was so much emotion in the town that it was going to bubble over in one way or another.

28:49And it just happened to be when Keir Starmer was there. Were you conscious of the anger that was building? And more importantly, were you conscious of what was causing it? The unrest was building on the basis of disinformation that was spread where there was a lack of information. so as you know when especially when an under 18 is is arrested but when anyone is arrested their name is not publicized people at that time didn't understand that and then you add the false name that was circulated false information stating he was a muslim false information stating that he was a migrant all this fueled the anger and and the disorder that unfolded in the town at the time when I was speaking to people you know people who lived in the community people who lived nearby they were just upset they were sad they were grieving I was upset I you know it felt like the entire town my hometown was grieving and as that disorder unfolded it felt like it had been hijacked you know this grief and this sense of sadness felt like it had been hijacked by these people who who took the opportunity to cause disorder and target police and target you know the authorities you've got to remember as well i'll see's mum jenny talked to facebook to condemn these riots to condemn the disorder and condemn the anger because as she said it's not what they needed it's not what they wanted and you know i think when she said that she definitely was speaking for all the families that were involved with this attack because you were on the local paper ben i assume that you did build up a rapport with the three families that were affected.

30:30We know they have subsequently spoken out. Can you give us an insight into what effect this has had on Southport? It's very difficult to put into words just the effects that it's had on all the people in Southport. People are very anxious about the 29th of July just because there is so much emotion. They're concerned about the image of Southport as well. This is a seaside town that if you're from the north of England or certainly the northwest of England, you've more than likely been on a staycation in Southport. It's just a coastal, family-orientated town that has now been tarnished with this unthinkable tragedy.

31:12People want to remember Bibi, Elsie and Alice for who they were. Photos, videos, they've all showed just how bubbly and character-filled these three young girls were. And then not to mention the people who were not just injured in the attack, but also the children that were just there. Their lives have been completely turned upside down. They've been scarred. I was speaking to one parent the other day whose daughter survived the attack, but was injured, and said that just the hot weather is now a trigger. Take it back to 29th of July last year. It was a balmy, hot summer's day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

31:50It was touching 30 degrees. and that is now a trigger you know what should be a great time six weeks off school hot weather is now completely ruined you know that there is echoes and ripples across the town now off the back of this horrific horrific attack is there nervousness that there might be more unrest because of the um the one year anniversary and and what are the police doing to make sure that doesn't happen there is slight nervousness around potential unrest i spoke to the imam abraham hussein from southbourne mosque the other day and he said that they are constantly receiving intel of potential incidents you know some some more serious than others but i think people are also quite nervous and about the media coming back you know people being asked about in the street people having to talk about it again because it is you know it is grief it is It's a harrowing thing that people have gone through.

32:50In terms of potential unrest, I think the Merse-Side police very much have their finger on the pulse, maybe more so than they did 12 months ago, when it comes to the potential of riots and violent disorder. In fact, there was one neighbour I spoke to last week who they come from Asian descent, and they felt uncomfortable just leaving the house. this is a family with three sons one of which is a 20 year old student who didn't even want to leave the house for days after this happened weeks after this happened there is that nervousness from especially the Muslim community but I think there is also that awareness that Midside police are certainly trying their best, there is a police presence in the town it was only at the weekend I was driving past the mosque and there was also a mobile police station driving past at the same time Was the local community generally welcoming of the news that Rudicabana got 52 years?

33:52Yeah, I think once people understood why he wasn't handed a life order, had this happened a week later, he would have been eligible for a life order. Nothing is going to fix what he did. Nothing is going to change what he did. And I think the anger is there that this happened. But I think given the circumstances, the fact he was 17 when this attack took place, 17 when he was arrested, 17 when he was charged, and the judge himself said that the likelihood of him being released from prison is very low. There is that sense of he will probably never be released from prison, but nothing brings back the lives of B.B., I'll see in Alice.

34:37Ben, you'll obviously be aware as our audience is of a lady called Lucy Connolly who was sentenced to 31 months in prison for inciting racial hatred after she called for mass deportations and the burning of migrant hotels in a tweet that she deleted on the day of the Southport killings. She's become a bit of a core celeb for free speech campaigners. What's the attitude towards her in Southport? If I'm being honest, I don't think I've ever had a conversation with anyone from Southport about Lucy Connolly. People may have their opinions about it. People may have certain feelings about it, whether she should be incarcerated or not.

35:16But it's not a story I've, you know, particularly covered. And it's not really been anything that, in the grand scheme of things, people in the town, you know, the fundraising for the charities and the names of these three children, they're, you know, talking about the three-minute silence that's going to take place on the anniversary. They're talking about the local impacts. They're not, unfortunately, talking about day-to-day a woman who put out a tweet and was subsequently arrested and convicted. And on that to finish, Ben, is that where the focus now lies? So Elsie, Beebe and Alice's family, are they ploughing their efforts into their charity work?

35:54Do they want to continue to speak about their daughters? Is it now a case of they said everything they want to say and they just want to try and get on with the rest of their lives? Yeah, I think, you know, at the moment, it's heartwarming to see the entire town and now raising money for each. You know, there's three different charities set up now, all in the names of the three children. Elsie's mum and dad were kind of the first ones to really make moves with the charity, Elsie's Story, now you have BB's Hive and now you have Alice's Wonderland. That is where everyone's efforts seem to be and the families have very much dedicated their lives to raising money, to put it back into the community, put it back into giving children, maybe children who can't afford it or children who are ill, these opportunities to go abroad or to have these once-in-a-lifetime trips.

36:43I know Beebe's Hive is working really hard to make counselling available for children who have been subject to bereavement and things like that. It's where everyone's mind is at in Southport. and that's what people are looking forward to rather than looking back at what's happened. Ben Haslam, thank you very, very much indeed for joining us today from, I think, your office at the Liverpool Echo. Thank you. Thank you both.

37:13So it's just a quarter to three. We've got 15 minutes to go until the three-minute silence and lots of people have gathered here. Yes, the family said that they didn't want tributes laid at Hart Street, but clearly the locals here want to mark this occasion, want to pay their respects. So I'm surrounded now by local residents, young and old. There are some children behind me. Of course this occurred on their summer holidays last year. And I think what struck us about being in Southport today is just how many people have been affected by this. We spoke earlier to a local councillor who said that he had to provide support to the local community in the immediate aftermath.

37:53when we were at Compassion Acts, they made the point that they'd had to help a lot of first responders and a lot of ordinary members of the public that were just caught up in this, that witnessed things that they should never have had to have witnessed. We, of course, also remember the other children that were in that dance class that saw things that no child should ever have to see. We were just convened here by taxi, by an Uber driver, who said that the whole of the taxi community, of course, felt incredibly sorry for the taxi driver that brought Ruda Cabana to the dance class, had no idea whatsoever what he was planning.

38:34So at every step of the way, as we have been in Southport today, we've spoken to members of the community who have all felt this very, very personally.

38:52Thank you.

39:23Thank you.

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