Labour has criticised the two Tory leadership contenders who have accused the police involved in the Southport investigation of a “cover-up”.
Robert Jenrick first accused the government and the police of withholding information regarding the suspect involved in the Southport stabbing which took place earlier this year – concerns which were repeated by shadow minister Kemi Badenoch and promptly refuted by Downing Street.
Responding to the leadership contenders, a Whitehall source said: “What these comments show is that — whichever candidate wins the Tory leadership — a party which used to stand for law and order, and respect for the police, is headed for a future built on conspiracy theories and the undermining of public faith in our institutions and public servants.
“In the best of circumstances, that lurch into the politics of division and distrust would be hugely depressing, but to do it on the back of the heartbreaking losses in Southport is simply despicable.”
Axel Rudakubana (court sketch)PASuspect Axel Rudakubana, accused of murdering three Southport girls, has been charged with two further offences – one of which falls under the Terrorism Act.
His other charge is for producing a biological toxin, which is an offence under Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974.
However, the Southport attack is not currently being treated as a terrorist incident.
Following this announcement, former immigration minister Jenrick said that government sources were withholding information, while Kemi Badenoch said that “there were serious questions to be asked of the police, the CPS and also of Keir Starmer’s response to the whole situation”.
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Jenrick said: “We were told for months that this was not a terror-related incident, and yet we have learnt that this individual, the suspect, was allegedly reading al-Qaeda manuals and had access to dangerous substances like ricin.”
“Given the scale of public interest, I think it is an important question to be asked, why was this information not put into the public domain sooner?
“So I’m asking the public authorities and the prime minister, what did they know, when did they learn it, and why was the decision taken not to be more honest and transparent with the public.”
The police have said that it is “certainly not the case” and have explained that specific details regarding a live police investigation are usually kept confidential.