The teenager accused of killing three girls in a knife attack at a dance class in Southport in July last year has pleaded guilty to their murders.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, from Lancashire, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on what was due to be the first day of his trial on Monday.

He refused to stand or confirm his name but then pleaded guilty to the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.

He also admitted 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a kitchen knife over the attack in the Merseyside town on 29 July.

Eight other children, aged between seven and 13, were injured in the mass stabbing at The Hart Space, along with yoga instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

Rudakubana was aged 17 at the time of the attack, which has not been declared terror-related, according to Merseyside Police.

He further pleaded guilty to charges of producing ricin and possessing an al Qaeda training manual allegedly found in searches of his home in Banks, Lancashire, in the following days.

The judge, Mr Justice Goose said he will sentence the teenager on Thursday.

Rudakubana remained seated in the dock as he entered the guilty pleas, while none of the victims’ family members were in court as the trial had been expected to open on Tuesday.

Wearing a grey tracksuit and surgical face mask, he showed no emotion as he was taken down to the cells surrounded by four dock officers and an an intermediary.

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Jeremy Corbyn has agreed to be interviewed under caution by police following a pro-Palestinian rally in central London, Sky News understands.

The former Labour leader, 75, voluntarily attended a police station in the capital this afternoon.

The BBC reports that John McDonnell, 73, who was the shadow chancellor during Mr Corbyn’s leadership, also agreed to be voluntarily interviewed.

Sky News saw the pair leaving Charing Cross Police station this afternoon. They declined to comment when approached.

Nine other people have been charged with public order offences following arrests at the protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) on Saturday.

The Met said they witnessed a “deliberate effort, including by protest organisers” to breach conditions that had been imposed on the event.

This has been denied by the PSC, who have accused the Met of heavy-handed tactics.

The protest came as Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire and hostage release deal following the 15-month-long war in Gaza.

Police said the organisers had agreed the protest would be static, to prevent crowds forming in the vicinity of a synagogue located a short distance from the BBC’s headquarters near Portland Place.

In a statement on Sunday, the Met said those who have been charged with breaching the conditions, which includes Mr Corbyn’s brother Piers, are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in the coming days.

It added that three men had agreed to attend voluntarily at a Central London Police Station today to be interviewed under caution.

Giving only their ages, the Met said: “The 75-year-old, 73-year-old, and 61-year-old will be interviewed by officers this afternoon”.

Commander Adam Slonecki, who led the policing operation, said: “Yesterday we saw a deliberate effort, including by protest organisers, to breach conditions and attempt to march out of Whitehall.

“This was a serious escalation in criminality and one which we are taking incredibly seriously. Officers have worked around the clock to pursue those involved.

“We will continue to work through CCTV footage, videos from social media and our body-worn cameras so we can make further arrests and bring forward charges where we identify criminality.”

However, the PSC has accused the Met of promoting “a misleading narrative about the events” in “claiming that a peaceful delegation pushed through police lines”.

The PSC said that after the Met banned their march to the BBC, they made clear they intended to protest against that “anti-democratic” decision if the restrictions were not lifted, by walking “silently and peacefully” towards the broadcaster’s offices.

They claimed that when they reached the police line, they were invited to continue walking towards Trafalgar Square.

Mr Corbyn and Mr McDonnell also disputed the police version of events.

In response to a police social media post claiming protesters “forced their way through” police lines, Mr Corbyn wrote: “This is not an accurate description of events at all.

“I was part of a delegation of speakers, who wished to peacefully carry and lay flowers in memory of children in Gaza who had been killed.”

“This was facilitated by the police. We did not force our way through.”

This was echoed by Mr Mcdonnell who said: “I spoke at demo & was part of a procession of speakers aiming to go to BBC to lay flowers commemorating the death of Palestinian children. We did not force our way thru, the police allowed us to go thru & when stopped in Trafalgar Square we laid our flowers down & dispersed.”

Mr Corbyn now sits as the independent MP for Islington North after successfully running against his former party at the general election, following his suspension over an antisemitism row.

Mr McDonnell currently sits as an independent, having lost the whip for six months in July last year for voting against the government over the child benefit cap.

The government doesn’t think Donald Trump will impose trade tariffs on the UK, but is “prepared for all scenarios”, a cabinet minister has said. 

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that the former president’s return to the White House “could be an enormously positive thing with lots of opportunities”.

Mr Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on all imports into the United States, singling out Canada, Mexico, and China as countries that could face steeper measures within hours of his inauguration on Monday.

Asked what the government will do if that happens to the UK, Mr Jones said that was a “hypothetical” question and to wait and see “what actually happens”.

Politics Hub: Trump ‘within his right’ to make statement on tariffs

“If that were to happen, I will come back and lay out the details for you. But the point is, is that I don’t think we’re going to be in that scenario,” Mr Jones said.

He said there is a narrative in the UK that Mr Trump’s presidency poses “a big risk for Britain”, when this isn’t the case.

“Britain is a brilliant country with huge capabilities and assets which are valued not just to the British people, but to the American economy and other parts of the world,” he said.

“I have no doubt whatsoever that under the Trump administration there are going to be plenty of opportunities that we can seize, and we should be positive about that and be strong about securing this deal.”

Mr Jones confirmed there is ultimately a plan if tariffs are imposed, but said it isn’t for him “to lay out the details in advance of something actually happening on TV”.

“It’s not breaking news that the government prepares for all scenarios,” he added.

“My broader point is that we shouldn’t be looking at president-elect Trump’s inauguration as a risk, or a bad thing for the UK. It could be an enormously positive thing with lots of opportunities.”

President-elect Trump will be sworn in to a second term in office on Monday, following his election victory in November, and there have been concerns over what his pledged tariffs could mean for economies around the globe.

The former businessman has been clear he plans to pick up where he left off in 2021 by taxing goods coming into the country, making them more expensive, in a bid to protect US industry and jobs.

Read more:
Trump tariff threat prompts IMF warning
What Trump’s tariffs could mean for UK, EU, China and the world

UK ‘should pursue free trade deal’ with US

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel, who is in Washington DC for the inauguration, said Mr Trump is “within his rights to make the statements that he wants around tariffs… but as ever this is a discussion and a negotiation”.

She said the Labour government should resume her party’s talks over a post-Brexit free trade deal with the US and “not even enter into these discussions around tariffs”.

A trade deal with the US had been set as a priority in the Conservative’s 2019 manifesto but was not achieved by the time of the general election in July last year, which they lost.

Ms Patel went on to call Reform UK leader Nigel Farage a “pop-up act” and “not relevant” when asked if her party should make peace with him to get on well with Mr Trump, given the close relationship of the pair.

She said the Conservatives and Republicans are “sister parties” with “enduring, long-standing ties”.

“We’re not a pop-up act in the way in which they [Reform UK] are… so I don’t think that’s particularly relevant,” she said.

However, the Lib Dems accused the former home secretary of “competing with Reform to be most submissive toward Trump”.

Confidence in Mandelson’s appointment

Mr Trump’s inauguration has also caused a stir after reports in the Sunday papers suggested he could reject Lord Peter Mandelson as Sir Keir Starmer’s nomination for the UK’s ambassador to the US.

The Labour grandee has been critical of Mr Trump in the past, and was last month branded an “absolute moron” by a Trump campaigner.

However Mr Jones signalled he was confident that the Blair-era minister would take up his position, telling Sky News he “doubts very much” the media reports are true.

“It’s probably being propagated by some politicians that would like to cause a bit of a nuisance. I doubt that will be the case.”

Govt ‘doesn’t agree’ with Khan’s Trump comments

Mr Jones was also forced to distance himself from comments made by Labour’s Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Mr Khan has warned of a century-defining battle against “resurgent fascism”, writing in The Observer that “these are deeply worrying times, especially if you’re a member of a minority community”.

Mr Jones said he does not associate with that language and questions about it “are for Sadiq to answer.”

He later told the BBC: “I speak on behalf of the government and we don’t agree with it.”