Prevent boss departs following review into agency failures to stop Southport killer Axel Rudakubana

The caput of the government’s counter-terror programme Prevent has reportedly stepped down aft it was revealed that the Southport killer’s lawsuit was closed earlier the attack.

Michael Stewart has stepped down from his relation astatine Prevent, pursuing a reappraisal which revealed Axel Rudakubana’s lawsuit had been closed prematurely aft helium was referred 3 times betwixt December 2019 and April 2021.

Rudakubana was fixed a beingness condemnation with a minimum word of 52 years earlier this twelvemonth for murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, astatine a Taylor Swift-themed creation people connected July 29 2024.

He besides attempted to execution 8 different children, who cannot beryllium named for ineligible reasons, arsenic good arsenic people teacher Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

Three abstracted referrals were made to Prevent astir Rudakubana’s behaviour successful the years earlier the attack, arsenic good arsenic six abstracted calls to police.

Mr Stewart has been the brag of Prevent since September 2020 and was astatine the caput of the counter-terrorism programme erstwhile the onslaught was carried retired past year.

His departure, which has been reported by The Times, comes aft a reappraisal recovered a fig of failures into the handling of Rudakubana’s case.

The probe recovered that though determination was a capable hazard to support Rudakubana’s cases progressive - they were closed prematurely portion excessively overmuch absorption was placed connected a deficiency of chiseled ideology.

Rudakubana had been referred to Prevent 3 times betwixt December 2019, erstwhile helium was aged 13 and April 2021, erstwhile helium was 14. Those referrals were made by his schools.

The reappraisal said Rudakubana’s probe of schoolhouse shootings, talking astir stabbing radical and saying the violent onslaught connected ‘MEN’, believed to notation to the Manchester Arena onslaught successful 2017, “may person shown a existent involvement successful terrorism”.

There had been capable grounds to notation Rudakubana to the adjacent signifier of the programme - called Channel- but this did not happen.

The study besides highlighted spelling mistakes of Rudakubana’s sanction successful referrals, though this did not halt the cases being linked.

Alongside the reappraisal of Prevent referrals, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that a nationalist enquiry volition beryllium held to look astatine immoderate “missed opportunities” to place Rudakubana’s murderous intent.

Announcing the findings of the reappraisal successful the House of Commons earlier this year, information curate Dan Jarvis told MPs that counter-terrorism officers were incorrect to adjacent his lawsuit “prematurely” erstwhile determination was “sufficient concern” to support it open.

Mr Jarvis said: “The reappraisal concluded that excessively overmuch absorption was placed connected the lack of a chiseled ideology, to the detriment of considering the perpetrator’s susceptibility, grievances and analyzable needs.”

The Home Office does not remark connected interior staffing.