It will cost £300,000 a year to keep Southport killer Axel Rudakubana in psychiatric prison hospital

A lawyer for the families of the children murdered by Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has said his transfer from prison to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital is another attempt by him to “manipulate the system”.

Rudakubana, now 19, was given a life sentence for the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults.

Next Wednesday marks two years since he carried out the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29, 2024.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed officials approved the transfer to Broadmoor on behalf of ministers, but a spokesperson for the department stressed it does not alter the killer’s 52-year sentence.

Bond Turner’s Chris Walker, who is representing the three bereaved families, said: “The three families we represent have been made aware of this development in the last 48 hours and it is safe to say that whilst this news would devastate them at any time, the fact that this has occurred as we approach the second anniversary in our view is another move by AR who would appear to be attempting, once again, to manipulate the system.

“We have been given the barest of details and whilst we are supporting the families through this we are urgently seeking a meeting with the appropriate authorities to understand the situation before commenting further.”

Nicola Ryan-Donnelly, Partner at Fletchers Solicitors which is representing families directly impacted by the attack, said: “At this time we remain focused on supporting our families (two years after) this horrific attack. We do not want to be drawn in to giving notoriety to the person who committed this atrocity at such a difficult time for the surviving children and their families.

"We feel strongly that this week and next should be protected for the families, and we hope that the images of him disappear from the press soon so that these children can work through free from fear of seeing his face again.

"The focus of public outrage should not be on moves that this perpetrator has made, it should be examining how we are two years on from this attack and some of these girls are still not receiving the proper psychological care and support that they should be to recover from this.”

Sally Jameson, a junior housing minister and former prison officer, said Rudakubana would be returned to prison “as soon as possible” but that she was not familiar with why the decision had been taken to move him.

Asked about how the prospect of him receiving benefits after the move to hospital could be right, Ms Jameson told LBC: “It’s not right, I sincerely hope that he won’t be qualifying for benefits.”

She added that prison hospitals are “not like ordinary hospitals”. He will be kept under very stringent conditions, befitting actually to his crime, but also the level of security that needs to be put around him,” she said. “And I’m confident that he will be returned to prison as soon as possible and serve out his sentence. And I agree that should be under the most punitive and solitary conditions.”

Mark Fairhurst, the national chairman of the POA union, which represents prison, correctional, and secure psychiatric workers, said: “This vile offender has played the system and will now enjoy the freedoms that are afforded mentally unwell patients in secure psychiatric hospitals, including benefits that law abiding tax payers will fund.

“My members will be placed at risk without the protections afforded to staff in prisons because he is now classed as a patient. He should spend his entire sentence in a prison in solitary confinement. My thoughts are with the families of the victims and all those affected by his heinous crimes.”

The Department for Work and Pensions would not comment on the specific case but said: “People moved from prison to a hospital setting are not entitled to claim benefits.”

Separate legislation is being finalised to remove benefit entitlements from convicted killers and other serious offenders sentenced to hospital instead of prison.

The move to Broadmoor high security hospital from the category A prison Belmarsh was first reported by the Guardian on Thursday. Offenders who present an increased risk, and cannot be managed safely in a prison environment because of mental disorders, can be moved to secure psychiatric units. People in these units are treated as patients rather than prisoners. Patients in secure hospital units cost more than £300,000 each a year, compared to around £60,000 for other prisoners, Whitehall sources told the newspaper.

The MOJ spokesperson 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.”

In May last year, while at HMP Belmarsh, Rudakubana allegedly attacked a prison officer with boiling water using a kettle in his cell.

In the years before the attack on the Southport dance class, three separate referrals were made to the Government’s anti-terror programme, Prevent, about Rudakubana’s behaviour, as well as six separate calls to police.

Rudakubana attacked a pupil with a hockey stick, used school computers to look up the London Bridge terror outrage and carried a knife on a bus.

Knives, archery arrows and ricin, a biological toxin 6,000 times more poisonous than cyanide, were found when police raided Rudakubana’s home after the attack, with evidence suggesting the equipment needed for the substance was bought in 2022.

Alder Hey children’s NHS foundation in Liverpool previously confirmed he received NHS mental health care between 2019 and 2023, when he “stopped engaging”.

Broadmoor, in Berkshire, is the oldest of the UK’s three high-security hospitals and has held some of the UK’s most high-profile criminals, including Ronnie Kray and serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, also known as the Yorkshire Ripper.

Under the Mental Health Act, officials acting for the Justice Secretary have no choice but to accept the advice of clinical professionals to transfer prisoners to a secure facility.

An offender in a secure hospital will be compelled to engage with treatment and to undertake therapies before any return to prison or release into the community.

Where offenders no longer require treatment in hospital, the Act allows a swift return to prison.

Latest

• 09:4824 Jul 2026109 wordsAxel Rudakubana has “played the system” to get a move to Broadmoor, the Prison Officers’ Association said.
• 09:4224 Jul 2026116 wordsChris Walker, of Bond Turner, who is representing the three bereaved Southport families, said in a statement: “The three families we represent have been made aware of this development in the last 48 hours and it is safe to say that whilst this news would devastate them at any time, the fact that this has occurred as we approach the second anniversary in our view is another move by AR who would appear to be attempting, once again, to manipulate the system.
• 08:3724 Jul 2026163 wordsIt would not be right for Southport killer Axel Rudakubana to qualify for benefits, a minister has said after he was transferred from prison to Broadmoor psychiatric hos