Sir Keir Starmer Admits Withholding Information About Southport Killer's Terror Links

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Sir Keir Starmer Admits Withholding Information About Southport Killer's Terror Links
Sir Keir StarmerAxel RudakubanaSouthport Murders
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Sir Keir Starmer admitted withholding information about the terrorist links of Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer, but denied involvement in a cover-up. He stated that revealing crucial details could have prejudiced the trial and broken contempt of court laws. The government has faced accusations of a cover-up for its lack of transparency surrounding Rudakubana's case, leading to public anger and riots last summer.

Sir Keir Starmer yesterday admitted he did 'withhold' information about the terrorist links of Axel Rudakubana from the public – but denied he was part of a cover-up. Speaking at an emergency press conference, he acknowledged he had been 'kept up to date with the facts' by police and prosecutors investigating the Southport murders.

But he said that revealing 'crucial details', such as the killer's fascination with terrorism and massacres, could have prejudiced his trial and broken contempt of court laws. 'It was not my personal decision to withhold this information. That is the law of the land and it is in place to protect the integrity of the system to ensure the victims and their families get the justice they deserve,' he said. Ministers have been accused of trying to 'cover up' the facts of the case last summer in a bid to calm public fury about the murder of the girls. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the failure to be straight with the public created a vacuum in which dangerous misinformation took hold online which 'fuelled' last summer's riots. Mr Philp said there could have been 'more openness and transparency ... without prejudicing the trial'. Yesterday the Crime Reporters Association complained to the Director of Public Prosecutions about the Crown Prosecution Service seeking to 'gag' Merseyside Police and instructing officers to 'stay silent' about the case as riots broke out last summer. The CRA said the CPS had sought to prevent officers revealing details about Rudakubana's religion, which could have prevented false rumours turning into riots. The PM told a press conference in Downing Street that people were right to 'demand answers' over 'failings' in the case of Axel Rudakubana Yvette Cooper was grilled on why the government was not more transparent over the Axel Rudakubana case as she faced the Commons yesterday Merseyside Police issued this mugshot of Axel Rudakubana, 18, of Banks, Lancashire, after he pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to all 16 counts he was charged with Yvette Cooper insisted she was 'keen' to reveal terror links of the Southport killer today amid more claims of a 'cover-up'. The Home Secretary was grilled on why the government was not more transparent over the Axel Rudakubana case as she faced the Commons yesterday. Her Tory shadow Chris Philp warned that stonewalling on the basis there was an investigation going on would no longer 'cut it' in an era of social media. But Ms Cooper said there was no way ministers could ignore the advice they were receiving about contempt of court. 'We have been keen to publish the information on Prevent referrals from the start, but throughout the advice to us has been clear,' she said. 'If we had ignored the advice that we were given about the case that (was) put towards us and about the information that the police and the CPS were working through in order to get justice, and if as a result a killer had walked free, no-one would ever have forgiven the Government or anyone else.' The clashes in the House came after Keir Starmer told a press conference in Downing Street that people were right to 'demand answers' over 'failings'. However, he flatly rejected allegations of a 'cover-up' of terrorist links in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity in July - which was followed by a wave of rioting across the country. He confirmed he knew about the details 'as they were emerging' - rather than in October when extra terror-related charges were brought - but could not risk the case collapsing and the 'vile' perpetrator walking away free. 'That is why the law of this country forbade me or anybody else from disclosing details sooner,' he said. 'I wouldn't be forgiven if I had.' Sir Keir said it was a 'devastating moment in our history' and must be a 'line in the sand' for Britain, warning that 'terrorism has changed' with the threat of 'acts of extreme violence carried out by loners, misfits, young men in their bedrooms'. He stressed that the probe should be 'unburdened by cultural sensitivities' and institutions will not be allowed to 'deflect' responsibility. 'I'm angry about it... Nothing will be off the table in this inquiry,' he said. Sir Keir said he was under 'no illusions' that the lack of 'trust' will continue until the state is 'honest' about problems and 'roots them out'. But he insisted he had been inspired by the response of the Southport community, who rebuilt despite the tragedy being compounded by violence on the streets. 'Responsibility for the disorder and violence lies with those who perpetrated it,' he said. The Tories and Reform said there were still 'serious questions' about the transparency of government information in the wake of the killings. Laying out details of the public inquiry in the Commons, Yvette Cooper said it was 'unbearable' that action might have prevented the attac

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Sir Keir Starmer Axel Rudakubana Southport Murders Terrorism Cover-Up Contempt Of Court Government Transparency

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