Rudakubana Case Chief Says Terror Status Would Have Boosted Investigation

Southport: The senior officer in charge of the Southport killings case, Det Chief Insp Jason Pye, thinks it would have been better if they had labeled it a terror attack. He believes that would have given the police more power to deal with the suspect, Axel Rudakubana.

Pye mentioned that if it had been classified as terrorism, they could have had more time to question Rudakubana. Instead of just 72 hours, they could have had a whole week. He pointed out that the law really limits what they can do in these situations.

Rudakubana was sentenced to at least 52 years in prison for his actions, which Pye described as mass murder. He expressed frustration that the case wasn’t treated as terrorism, saying it would have allowed them to do a lot more.

Interestingly, even though Rudakubana had an al-Qaeda training manual, prosecutors said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove he held any extremist beliefs.

In response to cases like this, PM Sir Keir Starmer has promised to change the law. He wants to ensure that lone attackers who commit extreme violence can be charged with terrorism, even if they aren’t linked to a specific ideology. He emphasized that the violence in this case was clearly intended to instill fear.

Families of the victims have been reacting to the news of Rudakubana’s sentencing, and it’s clear that this case has left a significant impact on the community.