00:00At Liverpool Town Hall, the families of the three young girls murdered in the Southport attack
00:05gave voice to their pain and their determination that lessons must be learned.
00:1017-year-old Axel Rudakabana killed 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stankham,
00:146-year-old B.B. King and 9-year-old Alice De Silva Aguir
00:17during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on the 29th of July last year.
00:21He also tried to kill 10 others.
00:23This first phase of the public inquiry has heard nine weeks of evidence,
00:27ending with testimony from the parents of the killer.
00:31For the victims' families, that evidence has been distressing.
00:34Elsie's parents, Jenny and David Stankham,
00:36said the inquiry exposed in painful detail the missed opportunities and failings
00:39that led to their daughter's death.
00:41Alice's parents, Alex and Sergio Aguirre,
00:44said the inaction of individuals and systemic shortcomings led directly to the loss of their daughter's life.
00:50They've called for new laws to hold parents responsible
00:52and they've failed to act on clear warning signs.
00:54Lauren and Ben King, whose daughter B.B. was killed,
00:57described the evidence from Rudakabana's parents as deeply disturbing and shameful,
01:02saying there were countless chances to intervene that were ignored.
01:07Their solicitor, Chris Walker from Bond Turner,
01:09said every agency involved must now be held accountable for what he described as systemic failures.
01:16Nicola Brooke from Brodie Jackson-Canter,
01:19representing adult survivors,
01:20said the sheer volume of mistakes and missed opportunities revealed during the hearings
01:25had shocked her clients and raised new questions about how such risks are managed.
01:30Inquiry chairman Sir Adrian Fulford said his priority was to provide victims and families
01:34with the clearest possible explanation of why the tragedy happened
01:38and recommend changes to prevent it from happening again.
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