New evidence has emerged of earlier opportunities to have stopped the Southport attacker before he was able to murder three young girls, according to the lawyer representing their families.

The parents of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar will today give evidence to the inquiry which was set up to establish firstly how Axel Rudakubana was able to carry out the attack last July and also to identify lessons to avoid a repeat.

In July, a major review found the government’s Prevent counter-terrorism scheme missed an opportunity to intervene in Rudakubana’s life and potentially turn him away from violence.

Officials with Prevent had been warned three times by teachers that Rudakubana was obsessed with violence – but the case was closed on each occasion because he was not found to have a terrorist ideology.

Now, the lawyer representing the families of Bebe, Elsie and Alice has told Sky News “significant” evidence is emerging of earlier opportunities to have identified Rudakubana as a threat.

Chris Walker said: “We know there have been failings with the Prevent process but, as we are delving deeper and the deeper into the evidence which has been disclosed to us continuously, it is becoming apparent that there were more opportunities and more failings before the Prevent failings.

“It would be inappropriate for me to comment on what exactly those are at this stage. It is evident that the problems with him occurred several years before the Prevent system failed.”

Mr Walker said the families wanted “individual accountability, systemic accountability and systemic reform” to come from the inquiry and an understanding of how and why mistakes occurred.

“We can’t have a system which is designed to prevent evil murderers committing tragedies of this nature being able to continue with their conduct because of individual errors,” he said.

“The system must be robust enough to absorb individual errors to ensure these tragedies will never happen again.”

The Southport inquiry, chaired by Sir Adrian Fulford, was set up to examine the circumstances surrounding the attack and the events leading up to it. It will examine Rudakubana’s history and interactions with local services and agencies and their decision-making and information-sharing.

Rudakubana is serving a life sentence with a minimum of 52 years for murdering six year old Bebe, Elsie, who was seven, and Alice, aged nine, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event.

He seriously injured eight more girls and two adults who had tried to stop him.

Between 2019 and 2021 teachers reported him three times to Prevent under a national duty to alert police and other agencies to potential extremists. On each occasion his case was rejected.

Read more:
The missed chances to stop Rudakubana
Grandfather who tackled killer

The injury has already heard evidence from the parents of other children about the life-changing impact on them of what happened inside the dance studio on 29 July last year.

Families ‘cannot grieve’

For the parents of Bebe, Elsie and Alice, Mr Walker said, the process has been a difficult one.

“The families remain traumatised. It has been approximately 14 months since this horrific attack occurred. Within that time they’ve conducted themselves with dignity and, as a consequence of that, they present extremely well.

“The reality is when they close their front door they remain traumatised and this inquiry is going to continue with that traumatisation for another 12 months, at least, so they’ve not been able to start the next stage of their grieving process.

“But the families are committed to the inquiry. They appreciate and understand the significance of it and the reason for it and they remain committed.”

The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has refused to be interviewed by the Metropolitan Police.

German drifter Christian B, as he is known under privacy laws, became a leading person of interest following the three-year-old British girl’s disappearance from a holiday resort in Portugal in 2007.

He is expected to be released from a jail in Germany as soon as Wednesday, at the end of a sentence for raping an elderly woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.

The Met said it sent an “international letter of request” to the 49-year-old for him to speak with them – but he rejected it.

Madeleine vanished shortly after she was left sleeping by her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, who went for dinner in a nearby restaurant in Praia da Luz.

The Met said Christian B remains a suspect in its own investigation – with Portuguese and German authorities also probing Madeleine’s disappearance.

He has previously denied any involvement.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, a senior investigating officer, said the force will “continue to pursue any viable lines of inquiry” in the absence of an interview with Christian B.

He said: “For a number of years we have worked closely with our policing colleagues in Germany and Portugal to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and support Madeleine’s family to understand what happened…

“We have requested an interview with this German suspect but, for legal reasons, this can only be done via an International Letter of Request which has been submitted.

“It was subsequently refused by the suspect. In the absence of an interview, we will nevertheless continue to pursue any viable lines of inquiry.”

In June, a hit-and-run theory emerged in connection with Madeleine’s death.

But her mother, Kate, has long dismissed the suggestion her daughter managed to get out of the apartment alone.

A number of searches have been carried out by German, Portuguese and British authorities since her disappearance – with the latest taking place near the Portuguese municipality of Lagos in June.

In 2023, investigators carried out searches near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz.

Christian B spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017 and had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.

In October last year, the suspect was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

The total funding given to the Met’s investigation, titled Operation Grange, has been more than £13.2m since 2011 after a further £108,000 was secured from the government in April.

Owen Cooper, the star of British TV drama Adolescence, has made history becoming the youngest to win an outstanding supporting actor Emmy.

Cooper, 15, played Jamie Miller in the highly-acclaimed series – which cleaned up in its categories, including gongs for his co-stars Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty, and director Philip Barantini.

Adolescence, which dominated Netflix‘s most-watched list earlier this year, centres on the story of a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a classmate. It was widely praised not just for its subject matter but also its technical brilliance, with each episode shot in one continuous take.

Cooper, who was just 14 at the time of filming and had never acted before, saw off competition from the likes of Javier Bardem (Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story), Peter Sarsgaard (Presumed Innocent) and his own Adolescence co-star Ashley Walters to win his Emmy.

He said in his acceptance speech that he was “nothing three years ago”.

“It’s just so surreal. Honestly, when I started these drama classes a couple years back, I didn’t expect to be even in the United States, never mind here,” he told the audience in LA.

“So I think tonight proves that if you listen and you focus and you step out your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life.”

The four-part mini-series provoked a strong response from viewers and prompted a conversation in the UK – and worldwide – around misogyny and online safety, with co-creator Jack Thorne joining Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a discussion on the matter at the end of March.

“It shows you that any dream is possible,” said Graham, who was also co-creator of the show, as he accepted his own acting prize.

The show was named best overall anthology or limited series and took home six awards in total, with Thorne and Graham also honoured for outstanding writing.

From police to the prime minister, Adolescence’s impact spread way beyond the small screen

Gemma Peplow

Culture and entertainment reporter

@gemmapeplow

It was a show that broke viewing records and fuelled countless conversations when it launched – a gut-punch for parents that shocked and captivated audiences around the world.

Adolescence tells the story of a teenage boy arrested for the murder of a female classmate, but is far removed from a typical whodunnit or crime drama. Harrowing and unflinching, this is a show about the impact of a horrendous violent crime on a broken family, highlighting the corrosive rise of online misogyny and the potentially damaging and devastating effects of social media on children growing up with smartphones.

The inital idea came to co-creator Stephen Graham following several real-life crimes. It tapped into parents’ fears because it felt real.

This was down to the script, the masterclass performances, and the one-take shooting – which meant viewers never left the action, had no time to catch a breath, not even for a second.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed he had watched the series with his family, prompting him to publicly support a campaign for it to be shown in parliament and schools. The Met Police also issued advice to parents on the signs to look out for when it comes to online radicalisation and extremism.

It happens every now and then, one of those TV moments – such as with Mr Bates Vs The Post Office – when a show’s impact extends way beyond the small screen.

Gyllenhaal’s gift

Before the ceremony, Cooper, from Warrington, had been surprised by his acting hero Jake Gyllenhaal, who walked in unannounced during an interview he was giving to press.

Gyllenhaal had been up against Graham in their best actor category for his performance in the Apple TV+ remake of Presumed Innocent.

The pair hugged, and Gyllenhaal gave Cooper a small gift – a “lucky duck”.

“I made this movie [Brokeback Mountain], and I got nominated for an Academy Award, and a friend of mine sent me this before. Something just like this,” he said.

“It’s just a ‘Lucky Duck’ to keep in your pocket. To give you a little bit of luck.”

The night’s other big winners

Other major winners included Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire The Studio, which dominated the comedy categories with prizes for directing, writing and outstanding actor, as well as best overall comedy series, and medical procedural drama The Pitt, which was named best drama series and earned awards in that category for its stars Noah Wyle (best actor) and Katherine LaNasa (supporting actress).

Severance star Tramell Tillman made history as the first black man to win the Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series, while co-star Britt Lower was named outstanding lead actress in the same category.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver also picked up two prizes for variety series and outstanding scripted variety series.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which was controversially cancelled earlier this year, picked up the prize for outstanding talk series.

“And that’s related to love, because sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it,” Colbert told the crowd as his team cheered his name.

As well as the night’s winners, the ceremony also honoured stars we have lost in the last year in its In Memoriam section, including Dame Maggie Smith, musicians Ozzy Osbourne and Quincy Jones, Gossip Girl actress Michelle Trachtenberg and director David Lynch.

A short speech incentive – but did it work?

This year’s host, Nate Bargatze, had an interesting way to keep speeches from getting too lengthy, as they often tend to do at awards ceremonies.

In his opening address, the comedian announced he would donate $100,000 (about £73,750) to the children’s non-profit organisation Boys and Girls Club of America.

But if speeches ran for more than 45 seconds, he said he would deduct $1,000 dollars from the total amount being donated – while those under the time limit would add more cash.

“I know, it’s brutal,” he said. “This is a game I’ve made up and these are rules.”

But with the speeches running over, the donation limit decreased. Bargatze told the crowd as he closed the show.

“The number, I’ll be honest, it was embarrassing. It went way down. So CBS is going to add $100,000. I will give $250,000 dollars. It takes us to $350,000 dollars to the Boys and Girls Club.”