Southport stabbings: Axel Rudakubana received second longest sentence in history and UN prevents harsher punishment, says Downing Street

Published

3 months ago

January 25, 2025

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Southport child killer Axel Rudakubana received the second-longest life sentence in English history and the government does not ever want to see him released, Downing Street has said.

Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said ministers “share the public’s disgust at [Rudakubana’s] barbaric crimes” but said imposing a whole life order (WLO) was not possible because of international law.

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The 18-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum of 52 years on Thursday for the murder of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, in July last year at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

However, the sentence prompted calls for a change in the law on WLOs, which are usually only imposed on criminals aged 21 or over but can be considered for those aged 18 to 20 in exceptional circumstances.

WLOs ensure that an offender will die behind bars, whereas a life sentence imposes a minimum term that must be served in prison before they are eligible for parole, with convicts then remaining on licence if they are released.

Rudakubana was 17 when he launched the attack, and his sentence is the second-longest tariff on record after Hashem Abedi, the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi, Downing Street said.

Abedi was sentenced to at least 55 years in prison for his part in the bomb attack that killed 22 people – a life order not being possible at the time because he was under 21.

Reforms passed by the Tories extended WLOs to young killers aged 18 upwards at the time of the offence.

Downing Street said on Friday ministers were not looking at further changes, claiming they were prevented from doing so by UN laws.

The spokesman did not name which acts the government was bound by, but Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that people under 18 should not be imprisoned for life with no chance of ever being released.

He said the government did not want to see Rudakubana leave prison and it was “likely he will never be released”.

Baby serial killer Lucy Letby and Sarah Everad’s killer Wayne Couzens are among the 70 people currently serving WLOs.

Those calling for a change in the law include Patrick Hurley, the MP for Southport, who has asked the attorney general to review Rudakubana’s jail term under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.

Outrage over the case has also promoted calls from two Reform UK MPs, Lee Anderson and Rupert Lowe, to bring back the death sentence, which was abolished in the UK in 1969.

Number 10 said there were no plans to bring it back, citing parliamentary votes in recent history which have rejected capital punishment.

The government has launched an inquiry into the stabbings, which aims to give families “answers” about what happened in the lead-up to the attack.

The prime minister has also said he will look at changing the law to recognise the “new and dangerous threat” of lone attackers not driven by one ideology.

It has emerged that Rudakubana was referred to the government anti-extremism scheme – known as Prevent – three times before the murders due to a fixation with violence.

He was also in contact with the police, the courts, the youth justice system, social services and mental health services.

Earlier, the UK’s most senior police officer warned thousands of young men were obsessed with violence, and called for this to be looked at as part of the review.

Rudakubana was sentenced after earlier pleading guilty to the murders, along with the attempted murders of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

He was also convicted of having a knife on the date of the killings, production of the deadly poison ricin, and possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

Judge Mr Justice Goose said he would have been given a whole life term if he had been nine days older.

The judge also said he “must accept” that the prosecution had made it clear the attack did not meet the legal definition of an act of terrorism because there was no evidence of attempting to advance a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.

But he added: “His culpability for this extreme level of violence is equivalent in its seriousness to terrorist murders, whatever his purpose.”

Politics

US senators ask DOJ, Treasury to consider Binance-Trump ties — Report

Published

4 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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US senators ask DOJ, Treasury to consider Binance-Trump ties — Report

A group of Democratic senators has reportedly sent a letter to leadership at the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department expressing concerns about US President Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency exchange Binance and potential conflicts of interest in regulating the industry.

According to a May 9 Bloomberg report, Democratic senators asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to report on the steps Binance had taken as part of its November 2023 plea agreement with US authorities, amid reports that Trump and his family had deepened connections with the exchange.

That settlement saw Binance pay more than $4 billion as part of a deal with the Justice Department, Treasury, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and had then-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao step down.

However, since Trump won the presidency in 2024, many lawmakers have accused the president of corruption from profiting off crypto while being in a position to influence laws and regulations over the industry.

Trump has launched his own memecoin — which earns the project millions of dollars in transaction fees — and offered the top tokenholders the opportunity to attend an exclusive dinner in Washington, DC. His family-backed crypto venture World Liberty Financial also recently announced that an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, MGX, would settle a $2 billion investment in Binance using the platform’s USD1 stablecoin.

“Our concerns about Binance’s compliance obligations are even more pressing given recent reports that the company is using the Trump family’s stablecoin to partner with foreign investment companies,” the senators said in the letter, according to Bloomberg.

Stablecoin bill fails to pass the US Senate

The letter came less than 24 hours after some of the same senators blocked a crucial vote on a bill to regulate stablecoins, named the GENIUS Act. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who reportedly signed the letter and opposed moving forward on the stablecoin bill, suggested the Senate should not be aligned with “facilitat[ing] this kind of corruption” from Trump.

Bessent said the Senate “missed an opportunity” by not passing the stablecoin bill, but did not directly address any of the concerns over Trump’s crypto interests. It’s unclear if or when the chamber could consider another vote on the bill.

In an April 23 report, the nonpartisan organization State Democracy Defenders Action said roughly 40% of Trump’s net worth was tied to crypto. The group noted that the GENIUS Act, in its current version, “would not prevent President Trump from using his executive powers to establish a regulatory environment and enforcement agenda that prioritizes his personal enrichment over the broader interests of US stakeholders.”

Amid the concerns with the stablecoin and proposed market structure bills, Zhao reportedly applied for a federal pardon from Trump. Though the former CEO already served four months in prison, a pardon for his felony charge could allow him to get more involved with the crypto industry through a management position.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Politics

Chancellor insists Labour rebels ‘know the welfare system needs reform’ as they push for change

Published

5 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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Chancellor insists Labour rebels 'know the welfare system needs reform' as they push for change

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has insisted that rebelling Labour MPs “know the welfare system needs reform” as the government faces a growing backlash over planned cuts.

Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure from Labour MPs, with about 40 in the Red Wall – the party’s traditional heartlands in the north of England – warning the prime minister’s welfare plan is “impossible to support” in its current form.

Dozens have thrown their support behind a letter urging the government to “delay” the proposals, which they blasted as “the biggest attack on the welfare state” since Tory austerity.

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Ms Reeves on Friday reiterated her plans for reform, insisting that no-one, including Labour MPs and party members, “thinks that the current welfare system created by the Conservative Party is working today”.

She said: “They know that the system needs reform. We do need to reform how the welfare system works if we’re going to grow our economy.”

But, the chancellor added, if the government is going to lift people out of poverty “the focus has got to be on supporting people into work”.

“Of course if you can’t work, the welfare state must always be there for you, and with this government it will be,” she said.

The reforms, announced ahead of Ms Reeves’s spring statement in March, include cuts to Personal Independence Payments (PIP), one of the main types of disability benefit, and a hike in the universal credit standard allowance.

The government has claimed that changes to welfare will cut the budget by £4.8bn overall.

Separately, Downing Street refused on Friday to deny that Ms Reeves has consulted on potentially overhauling their winter fuel payment policy.

Labour’s unpopular decision to means-test the policy has taken the benefit away from millions of pensioners.

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Ministers have faced pressure from their own backbenchers to rethink the policy in the wake of last week’s local election results, which saw Labour lose the Runcorn by-election and control of Doncaster Council to Reform UK.

Asked if the chancellor has discussed the winter fuel payment in private, the prime minister’s spokesperson said they would not give a running commentary.

Pushed again, Number 10 said a “range” of discussions take place in government – which is not a denial.

However, it is worth noting that when reports emerged earlier this week that Downing Street was reviewing the policy, the government strongly pushed back on that suggestion.

Politics

Taiwan lawmaker calls for Bitcoin reserve at national conference

Published

12 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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Taiwan lawmaker calls for Bitcoin reserve at national conference

Taiwanese lawmaker Ko Ju-Chun has called on the government to consider adding Bitcoin to its national reserves, suggesting it could serve as a hedge against global economic uncertainty.

Ko, a legislator at-large in Taiwan’s legislative body, the Legislative Yuan, took to X on Friday to report that he had advocated Bitcoin (BTC) investment by the Taiwanese government at the National Conference on May 9.

In his remarks, Ko cited Bitcoin’s potential to become a hedge amid global economic risks and urged Taiwan to recognize the cryptocurrency alongside gold and foreign exchange reserves to boost its financial resilience.

Ko’s announcement came shortly after the legislator held talks with Samson Mow, who advocates for Bitcoin adoption by states like El Salvador at his BTC tech firm Jan3.

Taiwan is an export-oriented economy

Ko highlighted that Taiwan is an export-driven economy that has experienced significant fluctuations in its national currency, the New Taiwan dollar, amid global inflation and intensifying geopolitical risks.

“We currently have a gold reserve of 423 metric tons, and our foreign exchange reserves amount to $577 billion, including investments in US Treasury bonds,” the lawmaker stated.

In a scenario of more intense currency volatility or potential regional conflicts, Taiwan may “very likely be unable to ensure the security and liquidity,” Ko continued, adding that Bitcoin could be a great addition to Taiwan’s reserves for several reasons.

Law, Investments, Taiwan, Samson Mow, Policy, Bitcoin Reserve — *Ko Ju-Chun advocated for the adoption of Bitcoin by the Taiwanese government before the Legislative Yuan. Source: Ko Ju-Chun*

“Bitcoin has been operating for over 15 years. It has a fixed total supply, is decentralized, and is resistant to censorship. Many countries are focusing on its hedging attributes. At the same time, in intense situations, it may not face the risk of embargo,” he said.

Bitcoin is not the only solution

Referring to many global initiatives considering Bitcoin adoption as a reserve asset, Ko stressed that he’s not advocating for Bitcoin as the “only solution” to rising economic challenges.

Instead, the legislator suggested adding a “small proportion of Bitcoin” into the diversified assets as tools for sovereign asset allocation and risk hedging, and backup capacity of Taiwan’s financial system.

He previously suggested that Taiwan could allocate a maximum of 5% of its $50 billion reserve to Bitcoin in an X post on May 6.

“When exchange rate risk and regional uncertainty increase, it is time to introduce new tools to construct a more flexible financial strategy framework,” Ko said, adding:

“As former Dean Chen Chong said, Bitcoin is the gun of the digital era. It may also be the gold of the digital era, the silver of the digital era. Or it could be gunpowder. A wise nation will not let weapons be in others’ hands.”

The news comes as Taiwan is emerging as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction, with the Financial Supervisory Commission pushing institutional trials of crypto custody services in late 2024.

Mainland China continues to maintain its hostile stance on cryptocurrency after imposing a ban on multiple crypto activities, including mining, in 2021.

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