Southport killer charged with prison attacks and a weapon
Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer, 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. He faces court in September as public focus on the Southport inquiry and his case continues.
Key Takeaways
- Rudakubana faces four charges linked to incidents at HMP Belmarsh between May and October 2025.
- The counts include assaults on emergency workers, attempted grievous bodily harm, and possessing an offensive weapon in prison.
- He is due to appear remotely at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 11 September.
- He was moved from Belmarsh to Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital in July 2026.
- He is already serving a 52-year minimum term for murdering three girls in Southport in July 2024.
What charges does the Southport killer now face?
The Metropolitan Police say Axel Rudakubana, now 19, has been charged with four offences alleged to have taken place at HMP Belmarsh over six months.
According to reporting by the BBC, the charges 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.
In May 2025, it was reported that boiling water had been thrown on a prison officer at Belmarsh. The officer was taken to hospital and discharged the same day.
Why does this matter after the Southport inquiry?
Rudakubana murdered Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on 29 July 2024. He also injured eight other children and two adults.
He received a 52-year sentence in January 2025 after admitting the killings. Because he was under 18 at the time of the attack, the judge could not impose a whole-life order. Coverage of the case has remained intense as the Southport inquiry has examined failings linked to the tragedy.
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Where is Axel Rudakubana being held now?
Earlier this month he was moved from prison to a secure psychiatric hospital. On 23 July, the Ministry of Justice confirmed his transfer from HMP Belmarsh to Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire.
Under the Mental Health Act, the MoJ is likely to have had little choice but to accept doctors' advice on whether he could be held safely in prison. A lawyer representing victims' families criticised the move. The families of the three girls described the transfer as an attempt "to manipulate the system," The Guardian reported.
Rudakubana is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court remotely on 11 September.