The families of Elsie, Alice and Bebe have called for “individual accountability” with disciplinary action against public officials whose failings contributed to the Southport Tragedy.
The atrocity in 2024 led to the murders of the three young girls with several other girls and two adults wounded and left with severe mental trauma.
Today, the Government issued its response to the phase 1 report of the Southport Inquiry.
The inquiry identified a number of serious failings with the Home Secretary agreeing to accept the recommendations made in full.
They said that “public statements of regret are hollow if there is no individual accountability” and that “those individuals who failed the most, must lose their jobs”.
They also welcomed the decision to revoke the license of a taxi driver who dropped off the killer at Hart Street and then drove away.
Chris Walker, Director of Serious Injury at Bond Turner, speaking on behalf of the three bereaved families said:
“The Government’s response reflects significant progress against the families’ key asks, particularly through its commitment to legislate against the planning of mass casualty attacks and its focus on the emerging threat of non-ideological extreme violence.
“However, important questions remain around legal duties to report known threats and how accountability for institutional and individual failings will be secured.
“We note that today the taxi driver who dropped AR (the murderer) off in Southport and was present at the start of the attack, but drove away, has had his licence revoked. This is an issue we have raised with Sefton Council and we welcome the decision as a necessary step towards securing individual accountability for those whose actions fell below the standards the public should expect.
“We have written to all relevant agencies demanding accountability from both a systemic and an individual perspective. There are several individuals whose actions fell short of expected professional standards and, had different decisions been made, we may not be where we are today.
“The Government has been clear that the ‘missed opportunities’ identified were unacceptable. The families and I firmly believe that, alongside action and legal reform to prevent this kind of attack from ever happening again, there must also be accountability for those who failed to act appropriately. We are engaged with some of these bodies but our demand for disciplinary action remains the same.
“Public statements of regret are hollow if there is no individual accountability, if those people who remain in their position continue to make the same basic mistakes, then this risks similar atrocities from happening. Those individuals who failed the most, must lose their jobs. Otherwise the public will have no confidence that an atrocity like this will be prevented from occurring again.
“We note the Home Secretary’s response to Sir Adrian Fulford’s recommendation to review the ‘duty to warn’ and are keen to engage with the Government on this issue. The Terrorism Act already places legal obligations on individuals to report potential acts of terrorism, and we believe consideration should be given to extending similar duties to known threats involving extreme violence. In addition to a Parental Responsibility law.”
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