Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana charged over prison assaults and weapon possession
Axel Rudakubana, the teenager who killed three children in Southport last year, has now been charged over a series of incidents inside Belmarsh prison. Police
Axel Rudakubana, the teenager who killed three children in Southport last year, has now been charged over a series of incidents inside Belmarsh prison. Police say the alleged offences span six months and include attacks on staff and possession of a weapon.
The 19-year-old faces four charges linked to HMP Belmarsh in southeast London, where he was held after receiving a 52-year sentence in January. He was moved earlier this month to a secure psychiatric hospital.
Four charges, six months apart
According to police, the charges are assault on an emergency worker on 6 May 2025, attempted grievous bodily harm on 8 May, unauthorised possession of an offensive weapon in prison on 26 June, and another assault on an emergency worker on 28 October 2025.
Rudakubana is due to appear remotely at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 11 September.
The prison allegations add a fresh legal case to one of Britain’s most disturbing mass attacks in recent years. In July 2024, Rudakubana attacked a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, killing Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine. Eight other children and two adults were injured.
What happened at Belmarsh
Police said the offences took place over a period from May to October 2025 while Rudakubana was at Belmarsh. In May, reports emerged that boiling water had been thrown on a prison officer there. The officer was taken to hospital and discharged the same day.
The case has drawn attention because it comes after Rudakubana’s original sentence. When he was jailed, the judge could not impose a whole-life order because he was under 18 when he carried out the Southport attack.
That detail remains central to public debate in Britain, where prison security and the handling of high-risk offenders are closely watched. Belmarsh, one of the country’s best-known high-security jails, has long housed some of the most dangerous prisoners in England and Wales.
Rudakubana now faces a separate set of proceedings over conduct inside prison. The next hearing is set for 11 September, by videolink. The charge over the offensive weapon, filed for 26 June, sits alongside the assaults alleged on 6 May, 8 May and 28 October.
