Southport Inquiry: Phase 1 report published
13th April 2026
Sir Adrian Fulford has published his report of phase 1 of the Southport Inquiry.
On 29 July 2024, AR (who was 17 years old at the time) carried out a brutal knife attack at a children’s dance club in Southport. He murdered 3 young girls, Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice da Silva Aguiar and Bebe King, and injured 10 other people. Sixteen others survived the attack but live with the serious emotional consequences.
Phase 1 considered the events leading up to the Southport attack and the attack itself; and (ii) the decision-making and information-sharing by local services and agencies which interacted with AR prior to the attack.
Sir Adrian identified five fundamental problems in how AR’s risk managed and opportunities, made detailed findings on missed opportunities to manage the risk AR posed to the public, and made 67 recommendations for improvements.
The Phase 1 report may be found here.
Phase 2 of the Inquiry will examine how acts of extreme violence by ‘violence-fixated individuals’ can be prevented. Its terms of reference were published by the Home Secretary on 13 April 2026.
James Berry KC and Chloe Hill acted for Merseyside Police.
John Beggs KC and Oliver Williamson acted for Lancashire Police.
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