00:00Today, the Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Axel Rudikibana, aged 18, from Lancashire,
00:07to be charged with two further offences.
00:11Axel Rudikibana already faces three charges of murder, ten charges of attempted murder
00:18and one charge of possession of a knife, all relating to the incident at Hart Street on
00:2329 July 2024.
00:26The two further offences relate to evidence obtained by Merseyside Police during searches
00:32of Axel Rudikibana's home address, as part of a lengthy and complex investigation which
00:38has been ongoing since 29 July.
00:42The additional charges are the production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, contrary
00:47to section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974, and possession of information, namely
00:54a PDF file entitled Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants, the Al-Qaeda training
01:02manual, likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism,
01:10contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
01:14Rudikibana will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court by video link tomorrow.
01:20Following announcement of further charges, today I want to reassure the communities of
01:25Southport and the communities of Merseyside that we are committed to getting justice for
01:31the families of Bebe, Elsie and Alice, the ten victims who were injured at Hart Street
01:38and the other 16 people who were present on that day.
01:42We are also committed to being open and transparent with our communities.
01:47However, I am sure you will appreciate that we also need to make sure that we do not prejudice
01:53this trial.
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