Southport Prevent Learning Review published

A Prevent Learning Review after the Southport attack has been published.

The review was jointly-commissioned by Counter Terrorism Policing and the Home Office.

Prevent learning reviews are carried out after a terrorist attack or serious violent offence has been committed by someone with prior involvement in the Prevent programme. Reviews are aimed at identifying internal learning within the Prevent system.

In the case of the Southport attack, an independent Prevent learning review was conducted to review the contacts the perpetrator had with the Prevent system.

The Home Office is working with Counter Terrorism Policing to follow up on the recommendations from the review and embed the learning into the Prevent system.

The attacker, Axel Rudakubana, was referred to Prevent three times, the first time by his teacher in 2019. The teacher raised concerns over his behaviours including being excluded from his previous school for carrying a knife and searching for mass school shootings on the internet using his school account. In discussion with Prevent officers, Rudakubana accounted for his searches and the case was closed two months later.

A second referral was made by the attacker's previous school in February 2021 after social media posts led to concerns that he was being radicalised. In this case, Prevent officers acknowledged the first review, but considered the posts were not counter-terror or domestic extremism relevant. The case was closed two weeks later.

A third referral was received from a teacher in April 2021, which reported that Rudakubana had internet tabs open during a lesson showing a search for London Bomb and seemed to have a passionate interest in Israel/Palestine conflict, MI5 and the IRA. In this case, Prevent officers acknowledged the two previous referrals, but considered that his needs were met outside of Prevent and there were no counter terror or domestic extremism concerns. The case was closed a few weeks later.

The review concludes that there was a high level of compliance by the Prevent officers with process timescales, assessment completion and adherence to policy that were in place at the time. However, in this case it is subjective decisions that are the focal point and Rudakubana should have been referred to Channel.

The review has identified areas for learning to strengthen risk assessments, including around understanding indicators of radicalisation where a coherent ideology is not present and recognising the risk from repeat referrals.

A number of recommendations have also been made, which include strengthening training and guidance, changes to terminology used within Prevent, and improving assurance processes.

Following the publication of the review, Matt Jukes, head of Counter Terrorism Policing said: “In this case, there were at least 15 contact points with public services – health, education and social care systems, and the police.

“We want to see a system where every one of those contacts counts, and where the sum total of all of them taken together is seen as the red flag that it should be.

“Prevent referrals when Rudakubana was 13 and 14-years-old did not prove to be that turning point, and nor did later contact with other services.

“We have made changes to how multiple Prevent referrals are dealt with since 2021, but we take nothing for granted and must ensure we are always looking for further improvements to protect people from harm.

“We want to ensure that the right information is being gathered when cases are assessed, and that they are managed in the right place."

He continued: “Around the world, we are seeing growing numbers of young people drawn not only to terrorism but also into extreme violence online of all forms, and contending with mental health and social challenges.

“As others have recognised, as well as ensuring Prevent plays its part, new interventions for young people fixated on violence rather than terrorist ideology are needed, and their cases should have a clear home. They should not be passed from organisation to organisation."