00:00An inquiry has concluded that the murders of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Britain
00:07should have been prevented.
00:09But the probe, ordered by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, found there was a fundamental failure by state bodies and
00:16the killer's parents to recognise and act on the risk he posed.
00:20Axel Rudakabana, then 17, launched a frenzied knife attack in North England's Southport on July 29, 2024.
00:28He killed B.B. King, Elsie Dotstankum and Alice Da Silva-Aguia, who were six, seven and nine respectively.
00:36Rudakabana also wounded ten others in the attack, which was followed by days of nationwide rioting.
00:42He was jailed for at least 52 years after he admitted the killings shortly before his trial last year.
00:49Inquiry chair Adrian Fulford said key failures included a lack of cross-agency coordination between the police,
00:56the counter-radicalisation body and social services.
01:00One of the most striking conclusions from this inquiry's extensive investigation
01:06is the sheer number of the missed opportunities over many years to intervene meaningfully,
01:15which directly contributed to the failure to avert this disaster.
01:21He added that Rudakabana's parents, quote, bear significant responsibility for failing to stand up to him,
01:27prohibit his purchase of weapons or report his escalating behaviour.
01:31Nicola Ryan Donnelly represents the surviving Southport children.
01:35They have bravely shared their stories with this inquiry, reliving the horror of that day
01:40in the hope that things can be done, change can happen and that no other family will have to suffer
01:45as they have.
01:46We ask that where recommendations have been made, those individuals and agencies to which they are addressed
01:52take action now, not tomorrow. This must not happen again.
01:57A second phase of the inquiry will examine the wider issues of children being drawn into violence.
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