Axel Rudakubana charged with prison attacks and a weapon
Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer serving a 52-year sentence, has been charged with three prison attacks and possessing a weapon at HMP Belmarsh. Police say the alleged offences ran from May to October 2025. The 19-year-old is due in court remotely on 11 September after a recent move to Broadmoor hospital.
Key Takeaways
- Axel Rudakubana faces four new charges linked to alleged incidents at HMP Belmarsh between May and October 2025.
- The counts include two assaults on emergency workers, attempted grievous bodily harm, and unauthorised possession of an offensive weapon in prison.
- He was charged on 28 July and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court by videolink on 11 September.
- Earlier this month he was transferred from Belmarsh to Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital; officials say the move does not alter his sentence.
What new charges does Axel Rudakubana face?
According to the Metropolitan Police, as reported by the BBC and The Independent, Rudakubana has been charged with four offences alleged to have taken place at HMP Belmarsh.
They are: assault on an emergency worker on 6 May 2025; attempted grievous bodily harm on 8 May 2025; unauthorised possession of an offensive weapon in prison on 26 June 2025; and assault on an emergency worker on 28 October 2025.
The Independent reported that, in May 2025, it was alleged he heated water with a kettle in his cell and poured boiling water over a prison officer. He was charged on 28 July and is listed to appear remotely at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 11 September.
Why does Axel Rudakubana already have a 52-year sentence?
Rudakubana murdered Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport in July 2024. Eight other children and two adults—dance class leader Leanne Lucas and businessman Jonathan Haye—were also injured.
He received a 52-year prison sentence in January 2025. The judge could not impose a whole-life order because Rudakubana was under 18—aged 17—when he carried out the attack. Reporting has noted he is likely never to be released, and then-Attorney General Lord Hermer described the term as the "second-longest sentence imposed by the courts in English history."
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Where is Axel Rudakubana being held now?
On 23 July, the Ministry of Justice confirmed he had been moved from HMP Belmarsh to Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire. The transfer followed a psychiatric assessment. Under the Mental Health Act, the MoJ is likely to have had little choice but to accept doctors' recommendations about whether he could be held safely in prison.
An MoJ spokesperson stressed that the transfer does not change his sentence. Offenders who present an increased risk and cannot be managed safely in prison because of mental health disorders can be moved to secure psychiatric units, where they are treated as patients rather than prisoners. A lawyer representing victims' families criticised the decision to transfer him.
The new Belmarsh-related charges keep the case in the criminal courts even as Rudakubana is held in a hospital setting. His next formal step is the September remote hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court.