Shabana Mahmood says Southport inquiry report has exposed ‘systematic failures across multiple public sector organisations’
In the Commons Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is making a statement on the first report from the Southport inquiry, published today.
Mahmood says she will be not using the name of the perpetrator, or dwelling on what happened.
She says the report has exposed systemtic failings.
The findings of the inquiry are unsparing. Sir Adrian [Fulford] has uncovered systematic failures across multiple public sector organisations. The recording and sharing of information was poor. None of the agencies involved had a full understanding of the risk that the perpetrator posed, and many did not take steps to assess the risk that he posed to others.
There was a failure by the agencies involved to take responsibility, and nobody was clear as to who was in charge. So the failure, because it belonged to everyone, belonged to no one.
Where individuals missed opportunities to intervene, lessons must be learned. But they did so within organisations that repeatedly passed the risk to others and where systemic failings existed.
The perpetrator came into contact with the state on countless occasions. Lancashire Police responded to five calls to his home address. The police were called when he was in possession of a knife in a public place. He was referred on several occasions to the multi-agency safeguarding hub. He came into contact with children’s social care, the early help service and children’s mental health services. He was referred to Prevent on three occasions. He was convicted of a violent assault and referred to a youth offending team.
All failed to identify the risk that the perpetrator posed, and so he fell between the gaps. The warning signs were missed – a growing history of violence and a clear and continuing intent to commit harm.
Key events
Early evening summary
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp says Southport report shows danger of downplaying risks for fear of seeming racist
Shabana Mahmood says Southport inquiry report has exposed ‘systematic failures across multiple public sector organisations’
Lib Dems urge Financial Conduct Authority to investigate whether Farage’s crypto investment creates conflict of interest
Starmer defends treating Trump as reliable ally, saying US defence and intelligence cooperation keeps Britons safe
Starmer refuses to back call from ex-ambassadors for tougher measures against Israel over illegal West Bank settlements
Ed Davey says Trump has shown he’s ‘dangerous and corrupt gangster’, as he revives call for state visit to be cancelled
Badenoch says UK should be clear ‘whose side we are on’ in Iran war
Starmer says Israel’s strikes against Lebanon ‘are wrong’, as he makes statement to MPs about Iran war
Anas Sarwar says cutting NHS waiting times would be priority as he publishes Scottish Labour’s manifesto
Streeting claims Reform UK ‘hiding true intentions’ over NHS
Your Party ‘deeply flawed and dying’, say its Scottish executive committee members as they quit en masse
Farage says Orbán voted out because 16 years in power ‘too long’, dismissing claims it’s defeat for Reform UK-style politics
Streeting claims accuses BMA resident doctors’ committee of ‘holding country to ransom’ with strike threats
Farage dismisses suggestions that Trump posting pictures of himself as Jesus is evidence of cognitive decline
Reform UK would not let Holyrood hold second independence referendum, Farage says
Kwarteng claims Farage’s £2m investment ‘historic moment for Britain’s bitcoin future’
Labour criticises Farage over £2m bitcoin investment through Kwasi Kwarteng’s crypto firm
Starmer says UK and France will this week co-host summit on multinational plan to safeguard strait of Hormuz when war ends
Tories claim Farage’s plan for ‘Boriswave’ inquiry amounts to ‘circular firing squad’ given ex-ministers now in Reform UK
Labour urges HMRC to investigate Tice’s tax affairs
Southport attack blamed on ‘catastrophic’ failures by agencies and killer’s ‘irresponsible’ parents
Farage says he’s ‘satisfied’ with Tice’s response to allegations his firm broke law by failing to pay tax
Farage says Badenoch disowning last government’s migration policies shows why you should ‘never trust the Tories’
Farage says closer alignement with EU single market would be ‘total betrayal of Brexit vote’
Farage defends Richard Tice over allegations his firm broke law by failing to pay tax, saying Tice paid up in personal capacity
How government experts assess impact of legal immigration as positive – contrary to claims made by Reform UK
Zia Yusuf says ‘Boriswave’ migration surge was political scandal, and Reform UK would hold national inquiry into it
Farage claims allowing ‘Boriswave’ migants to get citizenship and claim benefits would lead to ‘catastrophic’ costs
Starmer says addictive scrolling features will ‘need to go’ as part of plan to protect children from social media
Energy price shock means typical household on course to be £480 worse off this year, Resolution Foundation says
Starmer signals he will stay on as PM regardless of what happens in May elections
Badenoch says aligning with single market rules, but staying out of EU, ‘worst of both worlds’
Government shift on intelligence evidence could revive delayed Hillsborough law
Fried nuggets and steamed sponges off menu in school food overhaul in England
Starmer defends proposed law letting Britain align with EU regulations easily, saying ‘closer relationship with Europe’ vital
Starmer confirms UK will not support US blockade of strait of Hormuz
Early evening summary
The Liberal Democrats have written an open letter to the Financial Conduct Authority asking it to investigate Nigel Farage’s purchase of £2m in bitcoin through Stack, the cryptocurrency business chaired by Kwasi Kwarteng. (See 5.26pm.) In a separate development, Labour has written to HM Revenue and Customs asking it to investigate the tax affairs of a company owned by Richard Tice, Farage’s deputy. (See 1.08pm.) Farage has dismissed the allegations, saying he is satisfied with Tice’s explanation. (See 12.22pm.)
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp says Southport report shows danger of downplaying risks for fear of seeming racist
For the Tories, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, accepted the report identified multiple state failings.
But he also said the report showed that concerns about the killer’s behaviour were played down because of his ethnicity. Philp quoted this passage in the report – a direct quote from the teenager’s former head teacher. She said:
My efforts to include this information [about the risk the teenager posed] within the EHCP draft were met with hostility by AR’s father and also by Samantha Steed (CAMHS [child and adolesent mental health services]). Ms Steed even went as far as to accuse me of racially stereotyping AR as “a black boy with a knife”. Nothing could be further from the truth. We wanted to support AR and his family in finding a suitable education provision. Withholding relevant information was not going to assist him or us in that process. The statement on risk assessment remained in the EHCP. However, in the end the wishes of the family prevailed and the wording of the EHCP was re-written in many places to change the emphasis of some of the concerns in the original EHCP.
Philp said the same issue cropped up in the inquiry into the Nottingham murders. He went on:
The fixation with ethnic disproportionality is deeply damaging. Ethnicity should never be a consideration when an agency is taking steps to protect the public.
Mahmood said today’s Southport inquiry report contained 67 recommendations. She said the government would respond to the ones relevant to central government by the summer.
She said the government had already updated Prevent guidance.
And the Online Safety Act placed new duties on social media companies, she said.
But she said she could announce that the government would legislate “to prevent the spread of extreme violent content online”.
She also said that, while planning an attack with terrorist intent is a crime, there is no equivalent offence for someone planning an attack “without an underlying ideology”. She said the government would legislate to close this loophole.
She said the second part of the inquiry would consider what steps could be taken to stop attacks like this happening again.
Shabana Mahmood says Southport inquiry report has exposed ‘systematic failures across multiple public sector organisations’
In the Commons Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is making a statement on the first report from the Southport inquiry, published today.
Mahmood says she will be not using the name of the perpetrator, or dwelling on what happened.
She says the report has exposed systemtic failings.
The findings of the inquiry are unsparing. Sir Adrian [Fulford] has uncovered systematic failures across multiple public sector organisations. The recording and sharing of information was poor. None of the agencies involved had a full understanding of the risk that the perpetrator posed, and many did not take steps to assess the risk that he posed to others.
There was a failure by the agencies involved to take responsibility, and nobody was clear as to who was in charge. So the failure, because it belonged to everyone, belonged to no one.
Where individuals missed opportunities to intervene, lessons must be learned. But they did so within organisations that repeatedly passed the risk to others and where systemic failings existed.
The perpetrator came into contact with the state on countless occasions. Lancashire Police responded to five calls to his home address. The police were called when he was in possession of a knife in a public place. He was referred on several occasions to the multi-agency safeguarding hub. He came into contact with children’s social care, the early help service and children’s mental health services. He was referred to Prevent on three occasions. He was convicted of a violent assault and referred to a youth offending team.
All failed to identify the risk that the perpetrator posed, and so he fell between the gaps. The warning signs were missed – a growing history of violence and a clear and continuing intent to commit harm.
Lib Dems urge Financial Conduct Authority to investigate whether Farage’s crypto investment creates conflict of interest
Turning away from the Starmer statement for a moment, the Liberal Democrats have written an open letter to the Financial Conduct Authority to ask it to investigate Nigel Farage’s purchase of £2m in bitcoin through Stack, the cryptocurrency business chaired by Kwasi Kwarteng. The party fears this creates a conflict of interest because it means that, if he is promoting the use of crypto as an MP and party leader, it could be in his personal interest.
Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader and Treasury spokesperson, said:
This raises real concerns that Nigel Farage could be using the Donald Trump playbook to put his own financial interests above the public good, potentially luring people into high-risk schemes for his own gain.
The FCA must investigate whether Farage’s plans to cash in on Crypto could potentially amount to market abuse and a conflict of interest.
We cannot allow political leaders to treat the financial markets like a personal piggy bank to potentially line their own pockets.
Fraser Nelson, the Times columnist and former Spectator editor (ie, no leftie, by any measure) wrote a long essay about Farage’s links with crypto on the Times on Saturday. He concluded it was suspect. Here is an extract.
Farage presents Reform UK as a vehicle to bypass elites, back new technology and return power to “the people”. But the direction of travel points elsewhere. When politicians hold stakes in the sectors they promote, promise regulatory favours to friends and openly threaten disfavoured companies, the boundary between public policy and private gain begins to dissolve. What emerges is not a freer market but a managed one where advantage flows through proximity to power. The risk is that it starts to look less like a revolution and more like a racket.
This month Lord Chadlington, a Tory peer, resigned from the House of Lords after an investigation found he used parliamentary access to assist a company in which he held a financial interest. He argued that he acted in good faith during the Covid emergency, but accepted that even the appearance of a conflict of interest warranted stepping down rather than contesting a lengthy suspension.
That reflects an older expectation: that public office requires distance from private gain; that crossing the line carries consequences. Chadlington, 83, acted on an old code. Farage is building a new one. Britain has seen versions of this before in milder form and has long prided itself on resisting it. The danger now is not a sudden break but a gradual normalisation: incentives aligning, rules bending, expectations shifting.
Starmer defends treating Trump as reliable ally, saying US defence and intelligence cooperation keeps Britons safe
Brendan O’Hara (SNP) asks if Starmer still regards President Trump as a “stable, reliable and trustworthy ally”.
Starmer says the UK works with the US every day on defence, security and intelligence.
He says that, when he mentions the US, “I mean President Trump”. He goes on:
We share intelligence on a daily basis. That intelligence safeguards many people in all countries across the United Kingdom. And it would be foolhardy, in my view, to give up that co-work that we do, which … safeguards the lives and interests of so many, so many people in this country on a daily basis.
Graham Stuart (Con) says Starmer should overrule his “insane” energy secretary, Ed Miliband, and allow the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas developments to go ahead. Acknowleding his language is unparliamentary, he corrects himself and says that it is Miliband’s policies that are “crazy”.
Starmer says he and President Macron will be co-hosting the summit later this week on safeguarding the strait of Hormuz. (See 12.57am.)
Jeremy Corbyn, the Your Party parliamentary leader, asks for an assurance that the supply of weapons to the US will be suspended while this “appalling” war goes on.
Starmer says the Americans are only being allowed to use British bases for defensive missions. British bases in the region were being targeted by Iran. It is his duty to protect them, he says.
Neil Shastri-Hurst (Con) said the government’s failure to publish the defence investment plan must be due to inertia or incompetence. Which was it?
Starmer said the armed forces were hollowed out under the Tories. He did not need their advice, he said.
Iqbal Mohamed (Ind) said intelligence obtained by British surveillance was used by the Israelis in Gaza. He said he was concerned that this might be happening in Lebanon, and he asked if that was that case, and if any arms supplied by the UK to Israel were being used in Lebanon.
Starmer did not answer these questions directly. He just said the UK always complied with international law.
John McDonnell (Lab) says there seems to be agreement in the Commons with what Starmer said about Lebanon being included in the ceasefire. But Benjamin Netanyahu is “out of control”, and Donald Trump cannot influence him, he says. He urges the PM to work with the EU on a “comprehensive European sanctions strategy” to restrain Israel.
Ellie Chowns (Green) says Starmer did not say anything critical of the US in his opening statement. And, despite what Starmer said about Lebanon, the bombing there continues. She said the government should sanction Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli PM, and stop the US and the UK using British airbases.
Starmer says the British bases are only being used for attacks on missile sites. What Chowns is suggesting would leave Britons in the region less protected, he says. He says that would be a “dereliction of duty, and I will never do that”.
Yasmin Qureshi (Lab) says that Israel started bombing Iran just as a deal on uranium was about to be reached. And it is still bombing Lebanon.
This is typical of Israel. Just before an agreement is reached, it kills negotiators and bombs the countries.
Lincoln Jopp (Con) asks if the defence investment plan will be published before the elections on 7 May.
Starmer does not give a direct answer, just saying it will be published as soon as it is ready.
Mike Martin (Lib Dem) asks Starmer to meet with other parties to discuss ways of increasing defence spending. He says his party is keen on using defence bonds.
Paul Waugh (Lab) asks Starmer to condemn the settler violence on the West Bank, and condemn the Isreali government’s failure to do anything about.
Starmer does condemn it. And he says it is getting “worse by the day, not better by the day”.
Bernard Jenkin (Con) said Starmer should be more critical of Iran, and less critical of the US.
Starmer said he had been clear that the Iranian regime was “odious”.
