Axel Rudakubana, the teenager responsible for the Southport murders, has been charged with a series of offences allegedly committed while serving his sentence in prison, including assaults and possession of a weapon. According to police, the incidents took place at HMP Belmarsh between May and October 2025. Rudakubana, now 19, was convicted for the murders of seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, six-year-old Bebe King, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar during an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July 2024. Eight other children and two adults were also injured.

In January 2025, he was sentenced to a minimum term of 52 years. Earlier this month, authorities transferred him from prison to a secure psychiatric facility.

Rudakubana is scheduled to appear remotely before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 11 September in relation to the latest allegations.

The new charges include:

• Assaulting an emergency worker on 6 May 2025
• Attempted grievous bodily harm on 8 May 2025
• Possessing an offensive weapon without authorisation while in prison on 26 June 2025
• Assaulting an emergency worker on 28 October 2025

Reports from May 2025 stated that a prison officer at Belmarsh was injured after boiling water was allegedly thrown on them. The officer was treated in hospital and released later the same day.

At the time of sentencing for the Southport murders, the court could not impose a whole-life order because Rudakubana was under 18 when the attack took place. However, legal experts have indicated that he is unlikely ever to be released.

On 23 July, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that Rudakubana had been moved from HMP Belmarsh to Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire.

Under the Mental Health Act, officials are generally required to consider and follow medical recommendations regarding whether an inmate can be safely managed within the prison system. The transfer decision, however, drew criticism from a lawyer acting on behalf of some of the victims’ families.