The head of a leading think tank has accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of going down a “bizarre rabbit hole” of blame in his response to the Southport attack case.
Alan Mendoza, Executive Director of the Henry Jackson Society, told GB News he was “puzzled” by Starmer’s approach to the failings that led to Axel Rudakubana’s deadly rampage.
Mendoza criticised the Prime Minister for focusing on social media and Amazon rather than addressing the multiple occasions authorities could have intervened.
“It would have been quite easy for the Prime Minister to make a decision to say, ‘look, we messed up, the authorities messed up, it wasn’t on my watch, I promise to do better’,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza hit out at Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s blame of Amazon in Axel Rudakubana’s case
GB News / PA
The Southport attacker had purchased the murder weapon from Amazon without significant barriers, when he was 17-years-old.
In response to the attack, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced stricter measures for online knife purchases, requiring two forms of identification.
Mendoza claimed there was a “real cover-up” of crucial information about the attacker in the aftermath of the incident.
He specifically criticised the Government’s decision to withhold key information about Rudakubana’s activities.
Keir Starmer has defended his actions after being blasted for Southport ‘cover-up’
PA
“You knew things about al-Qaeda training manuals, you knew he was watching beheading videos, you knew that he had an interest in all these activities and was talking about ricin back in August,” he told GB News.
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He argued this information could have been revealed within days of the crime. The think tank director suggested earlier disclosure might have prevented subsequent unrest.
“Had that come out, I think they would have defused a lot of the pressures out there, where people felt there was a real cover up going on,” he said.
“It turns out they were right, there was a cover up going on,” Mendoza added.
Starmer has recently warned that Britain faces a new threat from “young men in their bedrooms” accessing radical materials online.
Mendoza told GB News that there was a ‘cover up’ of information relating to Rudakubana
GB News
“Terrorism has changed,” the Prime Minister said. “Now, alongside that we also see acts of extreme violence perpetrated by loners, misfits, young men in their bedroom.”
The new requirements for buying knives online will mandate that buyers provide documents such as a passport or driving licence, along with a live video verification of their age.
Amazon has responded to the incident by launching an urgent investigation, stating they take their responsibility around age-restricted items “extremely seriously.”
The online retailer confirmed they use ID verification services to check personal details and require age verification upon delivery.