Southport suspect silent when appearing in court facing fresh charges

The teenager accused of the fatal stabbing of three girls at a dance class in Southport remained silent and did not answer questions when he appeared in court to face fresh charges.

Axel Rudakubana appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink from HMP Belmarsh on Wednesday morning for a hearing lasting less than 10 minutes, and sat holding his sweater over the bottom half of his face.

The 18-year-old faces the additional offences of production of a biological toxin, ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

Silent

He did not respond when asked to confirm his name, and a security officer with him at the prison told the court he had chosen not to speak.

Stan Reiz KC, defending, said: “Mr Rudakubana has remained silent at previous hearings as well.

“For reasons of his own he has chosen not to answer the question.”

The barrister confirmed his client’s identity and proceedings continued.

Signal

Addressing the defendant later in the hearing, the chief magistrate, district judge Paul Goldspring, asked whether the teenager would nod to signal his understanding but he did not react.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC applied for the new charges to be sent to Liverpool Crown Court to “link up” with the other charges Rudakubana faces relating to the July Southport incident.

She confirmed to the judge that the matters were “related”.

Judge Goldspring remanded Rudakubana in custody on the new charges and sent the case to Liverpool Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on November 13.

He said: “The prosecution will ask the judge to link up matters together.”

Commentary

Prosecutors and the Home Secretary have warned against any public commentary or reporting that could prejudice the Southport case.

Criminal proceedings are subject to strict contempt of court laws designed to protect the right of any defendant to a fair trial.

The aim is to avoid the risk of potential jurors being influenced by material they see in the news or on social media when they come to try a case.

Journalists from reputable media companies receive training in the laws governing what can and cannot be reported at each stage of criminal proceedings.

And jurors are routinely told at the beginning of a trial to ignore any previous material they may have read about the case, and to consider the charges only on the information that is presented in court.

Importance

But with cases that provoke heated debate or strong feelings, it is common for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Attorney General’s office to remind the public about the law.

In an entry on X on Wednesday, the CPS said: “Yesterday we announced further charges against Axel Rudakubana.

“We want to remind people that criminal proceedings against Axel Rudakubana are active and therefore it is extremely important that there is no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.

“We are determined to deliver justice in this case.”

Warning

On Tuesday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also warned against public speculation over the case.

She said: “The most important thing is to get justice for Bebe (King), Alice (Dasilva Aguiar) and Elsie (Dot Stancombe) and their heartbroken families, and all those affected by the attack, and nobody should put that at risk.

“The police and prosecutors have an important job to do in their investigation, pursuing every avenue and taking the action they need to ahead of the trial.

“We must support them and ensure that everything possible is done to deliver justice.”