The head of the Prevent counterterrorism programme, Michael Stewart, has said he will leave his role after a report into the Southport attack which killed three young girls found it had failed to stop the killer.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had concerns about the damning review which found a litany of missed opportunities to kill evil Axel Rudakubana, it was reported today.
His knife attack on a class of young girls at a Taylor Swift themed event in July led to the deaths of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe seven.
Ten others, including two adults, were injured in the attacks.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had concerns about the damning review which found a litany of missed opportunities to kill evil Axel Rudakubana, it was reported today
The killings sparked major unrest around the UK after false rumours circled that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived in a small boat
Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 52 years in January.
A rapid ‘Prevent learning review’ carried out into the Southport attack found that the killer was flagged to Prevent three times before his killing spree, and concerns about him were dismissed early due to him not having a fixed terrorist ideology.
Stewart was also held reponsible for a controversial Home Officer review that proposed that police record non-crime hate incidents and widening the definition of extremism.
He has now agreed to step down, the Times reports.
Following the report’s publication, Home Office minister Dan Jarvis told the Commons the government rejected the proposals.
The Home Secretary will set out a new framework for tackling extremism and hateful ideologies next year.
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
