Southport killer accused of throwing boiling water mixed with sugar at prison officer

On Monday, Southport killer Axel Rudakubana, now 20, will appear in court charged with assaults on prison staff at Belmarsh. Rudakubana received a life sentence for the murders of three children - Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King, and Elsie Dot Stancombe - and the attempted murder of eight others during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29, 2024.

In May 2025, he was charged with attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, assaulting an emergency worker in October of the same year, and possessing an offensive weapon while in prison in June 2025. Prosecutors allege the weapon in question was stone shards.

In May of the previous year, Rudakubana was accused of pouring boiling water over a prison officer. In July this year, the Ministry of Justice confirmed his transfer from prison to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital, a secure psychiatric unit for offenders with mental health disorders.

Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via video link on Monday. Offenders deemed to pose an increased risk or unable to be safely managed in a prison due to mental disorders can be moved to secure psychiatric units. Such units treat individuals as psychiatric patients rather than prisoners. Broadmoor, located in Berkshire, is the UK’s oldest high-security hospital and has housed notable criminals like Ronnie Kray and Peter Sutcliffe, also known as the Yorkshire Ripper.

Under the Mental Health Act, officials must follow clinical professionals' advice to transfer prisoners to secure facilities. In a secure hospital, offenders are obligated to engage in treatment and therapies before any return to prison or release into the community. Once treatment concludes, the Mental Health Act permits a swift return to prison.