Plan for Southport killer removed references to his anger, inquiry told

A care plan for the Southport killer that warned he could be "cold and calculating" and was "angry" when things went wrong was watered down, the inquiry into the murders has heard.

Repeated references to Axel Rudakubana's "perceived sense of injustice" were removed and replaced after discussions with his parents, the hearing was told.

The inquiry also heard that Rudakubana did not attend school for two years, but when the school attempted to remove him from the roll, his family objected saying it would affect their benefits.

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July last year by Rudakubana, then aged 17. He was jailed in January for a minimum of 52 years.

The inquiry, sitting at Liverpool Town Hall, was shown edits to Rudakubana's education health and care plan (EHCP) designed to deal with his autism spectrum disorder.

One note saying Rudakubana "does not like perceived injustice" from 6 May 2021 was deleted and replaced by: "Axel has a good sense of right and wrong, but requires support to work through scenarios where an injustice may have occurred."

A report from The Acorns School in March 2020 stating that Rudakubana was "unable to let go of any form of perceived injustice" was also deleted.

'Sinister, inappropriate' behaviour

The original report also stated: "There are concerns of occasions where Axel would say and do things which have been described as sinister, inappropriate."

That sentence was deleted along with a line which stated: "Axel can also appear to be cold and calculating."

Another line that Rudakubana can have difficulty managing when things go wrong and "then becomes very angry" was also deleted.

Nicholas Moss KC, for the inquiry, asked Kate Dixon, of the Department for Education: "Some critical analysis might point towards the fact that during that same time as the EHCP was being formulated, there was a parent-led process by which information about the risk to others was being watered down.

"Do you know if anything has so far been done in terms of considering the need to ensure that information about risk to others is not inappropriately edited out of EHCPs?"

Ms Dixon said: "There are other parts of the process and system where that risk should be should be written down and transferred."

The inquiry was told that Presfield School, a specialist school for children with autism, agreed to take Rudakubana on as a pupil after he spent two years at The Acorns' temporary pupil referral unit.

They were aware he had been excluded from Range High School, Formby, for taking a knife into class, but did not access his records about incidents at The Acorns.

Read more:
Southport killer assessed as 'no risk' - six days before attack
Parents of killer struggled to deal with his violent outbursts

Lucy McLoughlin, then deputy head teacher, said Presfield were "not knowingly aware of any risks posed" by Rudakubana, and were "looking at him through the lens of a vulnerable child".

"This view was wrong, as I accept that professional curiosity was narrowed," she said.

Father's benefit 'entitlement' concern

Despite repeated attempts to get Rudakubana to turn up by getting him to come in to play basketball or eat pizza, his attendance was only 0.7%.

Ms McLoughlin tried to visit him at home several times, but told the inquiry: "Quite often, I couldn't get in the house."

Two years after enrolling, Rudakubana was notified that they were removing him from the school roll.

His father appealed the decision, saying it would "affect the family financially, because it would impact their entitlement to benefits", the hearing was told.

The inquiry continues.

(c) Sky News 2025: Plan for Southport killer removed references to his anger, inquiry told