Southport stabbings: Parents of Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe pay tribute to daughters
Parents of two of the victims of the Southport murders have paid tribute to their daughters, describing them as “pure light” and “so brave”.
Warning: Some readers may find details in this article distressing
Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the parents of Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, described how they wanted their daughters to be remembered.
Along with Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, they were murdered by Axel Rudakubana while attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on 29 July last year.
Elsie Dot Stancombe (left) and Bebe King (right)
The attack shocked the nation and led to riots across the country in light of misinformation about the killer’s identity.
Rudakubana, 18, was jailed last month for a minimum of 52 years after admitting three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder.
Recently, a rapid review into his contact with anti-terror scheme Prevent found his case should have been kept open.
Axel Rudakubana. Pic: Merseyside police
‘So mighty and so strong’
While a clip of Bebe playing outside was shown, her parents, who weren’t pictured during the interview for legal reasons, told the show: “She was so mighty but so strong but so kind at the same time.”
They described visiting her in the hospital after the attack, reading to her and lying next to her to say their “final goodbye”.
“I feel like a lioness and I’ve got to protect my child. We’ve got to make sure she isn’t defined by this. She was pure light. She was pure joy,” Bebe’s mother said.
A ribbon left in tribute to the young girls killed in Southport
‘We’ll never feel true happiness again‘
Jenni and David Stancombe, the parents of Elsie, described their daughter as fearless and brave.
In the aftermath of the attack, Taylor Swift asked to meet the families at one of her shows at Wembley Stadium, Elsie’s mother told the show.
She added it would have been a “dream come true” for the youngster if she’d known the pop star had known she existed.
They added they had since started a charity called Elsie’s Story.
“We’ll never feel true happiness again… ever, but we might just feel a little bit of something if we make another child smile, for Elsie,” Ms Stancombe said.
She added the “massive” sentence Rudakubana received didn’t make them feel any better, because even if he spent the rest of his life in prison, it wouldn’t bring their daughter back.
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Southport attack: Prevent review released
The parents of the two girls previously spoke to The Sunday Times and described the moment they were told “something awful had happened” to their children.
In the days following the stabbings, a number of false claims circulated on social media about the attack – including a false name and incorrect claims that the attacker was a recently arrived asylum seeker – with some of that misinformation believed to have fuelled rioting in various parts of England.
‘Highly likely’ killer will never be released
Rudakubana was 17 years old when he walked into the dance studio, indiscriminately stabbing his victims with a 20cm blade he had bought on Amazon.
As well as the murders of the three girls, he also admitted trying to murder eight other children, as well as instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
He was given 13 life sentences, with the judge, Mr Justice Goose, saying the killings had caused “shock and revulsion” around the nation and said it was “highly likely” he would never be released.
Read more:
The 14 minutes of terror that left three children dead
Family of Rudakubana ‘moved to secret location’
The incident was not labelled a terror attack, although officers later found a plastic box containing the toxin ricin under his bed in the village of Banks, Lancashire, along with other weapons including a machete and arrows.
His devices revealed an obsession with violence, war and genocide, and he was found to be in possession of an al Qaeda training manual.
It fell outside the definition of terrorism because police couldn’t identify the killer’s motive
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
“It has been a success.”
Just Stop Oil (JSO) insists it’s been “successful” – as its members ceremoniously hang up their orange high-vis vests during a march in central London.
Since the group formed three years ago, it’s drawn attention and criticism for its colourful, controversial protests, which ranged from disrupting sporting events to throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and climbing on gantries over the M25. It sprayed orange paint over Stonehenge, and cost police forces tens of millions of pounds.
Those days are now behind it; to the relief of many.
Read more
JSO co-founder wins court appeal
Activists target grave of Charles Darwin
77 year old JSO activist recalled to prison
As a few hundred activists marched through London on Saturday, blocking roads as they went; taxi drivers blared their horns and football fans shouted abuse from the pavement.
The PA News Agency filmed the moment a white minivan seemed to drive towards a group of protesters blocking the road.
Protesters shouted “I’m being pushed back!” to police, while the driver could be heard shouting “What about my right to get home?” to the officers gathered.
But JSO never set out to be popular. And it believes its tactics – though hated – have been successful; thanks to the new Labour government’s commitment to not issue new oil or gas exploration licences.
That’s why, it says, its ceasing direct action.
JSO hangs up its high-vis jackets in central London on Saturday
A washing line of high-vis jackets signifies JSO’s disbanding
“This moment marks the success of the JSO campaign – our demand was to end new oil and gas licences and that is now government policy.
“As a result of which four billion barrels of oil are being kept under the North Sea. The campaign has reached a natural end.”
Dr Oscar Berglund, senior lecturer in international public and social policy, disagrees that JSO is disappearing because it’s been “successful”.
He told Sky News policing strength and public perception might have more to do with it.
“They have very low levels of popularity. About 17% of the British population are kind of broadly supportive of what Just Stop Oil do. And that’s too low to recruit.
“It’s difficult to recruit members to something that is that unpopular, and then that a lot of people for good reason I think have kind of stopped believing in that kind of disruption as a means to achieve meaningful change.”
Group triggers specific new protest laws
One thing it did change is the law.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone tells us: “Obstruction of the highway, obstruction of rail networks for example, these are specific offences now.
“It’s given the police more tactics, more methods, more offences they can consider, even stopping and searching somebody who may have something to either lock themselves on or glue themselves to something.”
A JSO activist holds a picture of an imprisoned colleague
Emma Smart was held in prison for her activism with both Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil.
“The high-vis might be going away,” she tells me, “but we aren’t.”
“These people aren’t going anywhere, we are still committed, dedicated, terrified by the failings of this government and governments around the world.”
JSO activists throw orange paint at van Gogh’s sunflowers
Orange smoke set off by JSO protesters at Stonehenge
She hopes for a time of reflection before it returns in a new form but says the need for climate activism is stronger than ever.
She also believes that while most people dislike JSO tactics, it still raises awareness of the cause and might even push people to more moderate campaign groups.
Just Stop Oil came behind other, similarly controversial climate campaign groups like Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, and as it says goodbye, its disruptive methods have been seized upon by other organisations like the Pro-Palestinian Youth Justice.
The infamous Just Stop Oil orange vests might be going away, but the individual activists, their cause and campaign tactics feel here to stay.
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