Axel Rudakubana, the man serving a life sentence for the 2024 Southport murders, has been transferred from HMP Belmarsh to Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security health compound, after authorities determined he could not be safely managed in prison.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed the move followed an independent clinical assessment carried out under the Mental Health Act. Officials said the transfer does not affect his sentence, and he is expected to return to prison if he is later found fit to do so. It doesn't change the length of time he must serve.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The families of those murdered and injured in Southport will be in this country’s heart forever and our thoughts remain with them. "Any decision to transfer an offender is made following an independent, clinical assessment, under the Mental Health Act.
"Following rigorous security checks, the offender has been transferred to a high-security psychiatric unit, where he will remain until assessed fit to return to prison. Officials have approved this transfer, on behalf of ministers. This transfer does not change his sentence – which remains at 52 years – and of which he will serve every single day."
Rudakubana, 19, was sentenced in January 2025 to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 52 years after pleading guilty to murdering Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, Bebe King, 6, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, during a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29, 2024. He also attacked eight other children, instructor Leanne Lucas, and businessman John Hayes.
He was also convicted of producing the biological toxin ricin and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual under the Terrorism Act. He had been found fit to stand trial in January 2025. According to GB News, housing a patient at Broadmoor costs about £300,000 annually, compared to roughly £60,000 a year for a Category A prison inmate.
Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the Prison Officers' Association, criticized the decision, telling the newspaper: "[Rudakabana] is not mentally unwell. He is playing the system and is nothing more than evil. He should spend his entire sentence in solitary confinement staring at four walls.
"It is appalling to think that he will now enjoy all the freedoms a secure hospital is forced to give him and even more unjustified is the taxpayer actually paying him benefits because he is now classed as mentally unwell. It is POA members who will now have to carry out the wishes of those who think he can be cured. This is a sickening development and my thoughts are with the families of the victims and all those who have been affected by his atrocious crime."
The Ministry of Justice confirmed the move followed an independent clinical assessment carried out under the Mental Health Act. Officials said the transfer does not affect his sentence, and he is expected to return to prison if he is later found fit to do so. It doesn't change the length of time he must serve.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The families of those murdered and injured in Southport will be in this country’s heart forever and our thoughts remain with them. "Any decision to transfer an offender is made following an independent, clinical assessment, under the Mental Health Act.
"Following rigorous security checks, the offender has been transferred to a high-security psychiatric unit, where he will remain until assessed fit to return to prison. Officials have approved this transfer, on behalf of ministers. This transfer does not change his sentence – which remains at 52 years – and of which he will serve every single day."
Rudakubana, 19, was sentenced in January 2025 to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 52 years after pleading guilty to murdering Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, Bebe King, 6, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, during a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29, 2024. He also attacked eight other children, instructor Leanne Lucas, and businessman John Hayes.
He was also convicted of producing the biological toxin ricin and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual under the Terrorism Act. He had been found fit to stand trial in January 2025. According to GB News, housing a patient at Broadmoor costs about £300,000 annually, compared to roughly £60,000 a year for a Category A prison inmate.
Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the Prison Officers' Association, criticized the decision, telling the newspaper: "[Rudakabana] is not mentally unwell. He is playing the system and is nothing more than evil. He should spend his entire sentence in solitary confinement staring at four walls.
"It is appalling to think that he will now enjoy all the freedoms a secure hospital is forced to give him and even more unjustified is the taxpayer actually paying him benefits because he is now classed as mentally unwell. It is POA members who will now have to carry out the wishes of those who think he can be cured. This is a sickening development and my thoughts are with the families of the victims and all those who have been affected by his atrocious crime."
