Southport killer Axel Rudakubana, 18, allegedly used a kettle in his cell to heat water up before pouring it over a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh on Thursday
Axel Rudakubana, convicted of a triple murder in Southport, reportedly assaulted a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh after his supervision was downgraded.
The 18 year old is said to have used a kettle in his cell to heat up water before throwing the boiling liquid over the officer on Thursday. Following the incident, the officer was rushed to hospital as a precaution and has since been released without the need for further treatment, with plans to return to work next week, it has emerged.
Rudakubana received a minimum sentence of 52 years this January for the horrific murders of three young girls and the attempted murders of eight other children, Leanne Lucas, a class instructor, and businessman John Hayes.
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The violent spree by the 18 year old resulted in the deaths of nine year old Alice da Silva Aguiar, six year old Bebe King, and seven year old Elsie Dot Stancombe, also leaving ten others injured during the Taylor Swift-themed workshop assault on July 29 last year.
The Sun is now reporting that in recent weeks, Rudakubana’s level of prison supervision had been relaxed; he had previously been held in a healthcare unit under constant observation.
A Prison Service spokesperson asserted on Friday: “Police are investigating an attack on a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh yesterday.” They stressed that “Violence in prison will not be tolerated and we will always push for the strongest possible punishment for attacks on our hardworking staff.”
Mark Fairhurst, the POA’s national chairman, has called into question the logic behind affording convicts like Rudakubana the same normalities as other prisoners when speaking to The Sun: “Why are we giving people like Rudakubana the same privileges and freedoms as other inmates? It makes no sense.”
He argued for a stringent approach, saying, “We have to base everything on risk and don’t give access to things with which they can attack staff.”
Fairhurst believes introducing super-maximum security units modelled after American prisons is essential for high-risk inmates: “We have to have super-max security units, based on the American system, for inmates like him. Prisoners like this are not going to reform or rehabilitate.”
Robert Jenrick, the Shadow justice secretary, took to social media to express his disbelief over prison safety priorities: “Since when did the right of a sick criminal to make a cup of tea come before the safety of a prison officer?”
Following an assault on a prison officer by Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer, involving boiling water, Jenrick conveyed his concern for all involved: “On Thursday, we’re told, the Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, attacked a prison officer with boiling water. The officer was hospitalised. My thoughts are with him and his family.”
He highlighted the issue wasn’t singular but part of a concerning pattern: “This wasn’t an isolated case. For weeks, I have warned about the safety of prison officers in some of our highest security prisons.”
There was also mention of a past incident, where one of the Manchester Arena bombing terrorists assaulted prison officers using improvised weapons, despite supposedly heightened security measures: “Just a few weeks ago, one of the terrorists behind the Manchester arena bombing attacked prison officers with a makeshift weapon and boiling oil, which he’d somehow managed to get hold of despite being in a supposed segregation centre in a top security prison.”
Jenrick offered a grave warning, stressing the need for action to protect prison officers’ safety: “Well enough is enough. We must never put the rights of criminals and terrorists above the safety of prison officers. Labour’s Justice Secretary needs to get a grip or else I fear it is only a matter of time before a prison officer loses their life.”
The annual number of assaults on staff in adult prisons across England and Wales has hit a ten-year high, as per data from the Ministry of Justice. A staggering 10,605 attacks on personnel in both male and female prisons were logged in 2024, a significant increase from 9,204 in 2023 and almost triple the 3,640 recorded in 2014.
In one shocking incident, Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi assaulted four guards with hot oil and homemade weapons at HMP Frankland in County Durham in April. Following the attack, Abedi was moved to Belmarsh.
Reacting to the surge in assaults, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood previously declared that tasers will be tested in prisons. She also confirmed that the Prison Service will carry out a “snap review” of the use of protective body armour for prison officers.