24 January 2025, 08:13 | Updated: 24 January 2025, 09:19

Southport attack was ‘not an act of terrorism,’ Sir Mark Rowley

By Danielle de Wolfe

Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley has told LBC that the Southport attack which claimed the lives of three young girls was "not an act of terrorism".

Speaking with Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Sir Mark Rowley was asked to clarify whether the stabbing, which left three dead and 10 injured, was classed as an act of terrorism.

Sir Mark Rowley admitted: “Not on the law as it is today, no."

"That’s what police decided, CPS decided,” he said, highlighting that "changes are needed" were needed when it came to the categorisation of crime.

The police chief's response follows the sentencing of Southport killer Axel Rudakubana, 18, who carried out the attack on a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport on July 29 last year.

The Met chief also touched on the lack of information fed to the public by police in the wake of the attack - which contributed to widespread misinformation and subsequent riots.

He highlighted that the UK has some of the strictest contempt of court laws anywhere in the world, adding the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has to ensure that trials are fair and........

© LBC