Southport stabbings were ‘savage and senseless’ as mugshot of attacker Axel Rudakubana released

Police have issued a mugshot of Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana after he admitted murdering three girls last July.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, entered the plea at the start of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court and also admitted attempting to murder 10 other people.

Reacting outside the court Ursula Doyle, deputy chief crown prosecutor for Mersey-Cheshire, described the attack as “unspeakable” adding it “has left an enduring mark on our community, and the nation, for its savagery and senselessness”.

She went on to call the stabbings a “meticulously planned rampage” from a “young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence. Ms Doyle added Rudakubana “showed no signs of remorse”.

Mr Justice Goose told Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the fatal stabbings, that it was “inevitable the sentence to be imposed upon you will mean a life sentence”.

He also admitted additional charges related to possessing the poison ricin and having an al Qaeda manual.

Rudakubana pleaded guilty to stabbing Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, who were at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event.

The attacks on 29 July led to a week of rioting across parts of England and Northern Ireland after he was falsely identified as an asylum seeker. He was born in Wales.

Mr Justice Goose said Rudakubana will be sentenced on Thursday.

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