The Guardian view on lessons from Southport: people fixated on violence must not slip through the system | Editorial

Having ordered a public inquiry, it is right that ministers are taking its ideas about managing risks seriously

It is two years this month since Axel Rudakubana burst into a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, murdered Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe, and injured 10 other people. The government’s pledge to implement all 67 recommendations from the public inquiry signals its determination to protect the public in future. Its chair, Sir Adrian Fulford, said his most important finding was the failure by any organisation to “take ownership of the risk” posed by Rudakubana. He revealed his interest in violence multiple times, including when he was found on a bus with a knife in 2022. Rather than make an arrest, police sent him home.

Sir Adrian and the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, want to ensure that in future, police confronted by a young man with a knife, and with a similar track record, would behave differently. A key part of the problem is what they, and other officials who encountered Rudakubana, did and didn’t know. The plan is to close the gaps between the public services that he repeatedly slipped through.

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