Chairman Sir Adrian Fulford also said it was "highly likely" the murders of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop on 29 July 2024 would not have happened if agencies had properly managed the risk the teenager posed.

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were killed, while Rudakubana, then 17, also tried to murder eight other children, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes at The Hart Space in the Lancashire seaside town.

"This terrible event could have been and should have been prevented," said retired High Court Judge Sir Adrian Fulford in a statement as he unveiled his 763-page, two-volume report, in Liverpool Town Hall.

Read more: Southport Inquiry as it happened

He identified five major areas of systematic failure that "affected and indeed infected" all dealings with Rudakubana - who is serving a life sentence with a minimum of 52 years - and other agencies, including:

• The "frankly depressing" and "therefore urgent" matter requiring government attention is the failure at an organisational and individual level "to stand up and take responsibility" for managing the risk he posed.

• Critical failures in information sharing, meaning "essential information was repeatedly lost, diluted or poorly managed across agencies".

• A "repeated tendency" to "excuse" Rudakubana's behaviour, including violence, on the basis of his autism spectrum disorder (ASD), leading to inaction and a failure to address dangerous behaviours.

• A failure to oversee and intervene in Rudakubana's online behaviour, which "provided the clearest indications of his violent preoccupations".

• "Significant parental failures", including not providing boundaries, permitting knives and weapons to be delivered to the home, and failing to report crucial information in the days leading up to the attack.

'Turned into a monster'

In the report, in which Rudakubana, 19, is referred to by his initials, Sir Adrian said his parents, Alphonse Rudakubana and Laetitia Muzayire, faced "significant challenges" but "ultimately failed" to report the risk in the week before the attack.

He said Rudakubana had "placed his mother and father in an extremely difficult position", and their "life at home must have become little short of a nightmare given, to use the words of his own father, AR had turned into a 'monster'".

But he found they had "created significant obstructions" to engagement with him by various agencies and failed to stand up to his behaviour and set boundaries, as well as failing to report a clear escalation in his risk.

"If AR's parents had done what they morally ought to have done, AR would not have been at liberty to conduct the attack and it would not therefore have occurred," he said.

"If the full extent of AR's family's concerns had been shared with authorities in late July 2024 - including on the day of the attack - it is almost certain this tragedy would have been prevented."

Both Rudakubana's parents, who moved to the UK from Rwanda, apologised when they gave evidence to the inquiry from remote locations.

'Inappropriate merry-go-round'

Sir Adrian found it should have been "obvious" Rudakubana was not being "effectively parented" and criticised failures by police, the government's counter-terror Prevent Programme, social care and healthcare, and those involved with his education.

"If the relevant agencies individually and collectively had properly managed and responded to the known risk that AR posed to others from December 2019 onwards, it is highly likely that this event would not have occurred," he said.

Sir Adrian found Rudakubana was passed from one agency to another in an "inappropriate merry-go-round" in a failure that "lies at the heart" of why he was able to mount the attack "despite so many warning signs of his capacity for fatal violence".

He described an incident in which he took a knife to his former school in December 2019 and attacked a boy with a hockey stick as a "watershed event", which should've led to a conclusion to all agencies involved he posed a "high risk of harm".

Rudakubana was referred to Prevent three times between 2019 and 2024, but the referrals were closed, while he bought weapons, including three machetes, and ingredients to make the poison ricin online.

Sir Adrian Fulford said had a further incident when he was caught on a bus with a knife in 2022 been judged in light of his past risk, he would have been arrested, and his possession of an al Qaeda manual and ricin seeds would have come to light.

'This fight doesn't end today'

Chris Walker, a lawyer representing the families of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, said the report's conclusion that the Southport stabbings could and should have been prevented is "stark".

He added: "On behalf of the families, we repeat the chair's hope that this marks a genuine turning point. Our clients have endured unimaginable loss, and their priority has always been preventing this from happening to another family while seeking individual and systemic accountability.

"This fight does not end today.

"We call for immediate action, clear accountability and real change - not simply reassurances that 'lessons have been learned'.

"The public deserves systems capable of identifying escalating risk, protecting the vulnerable and preventing acts of mass violence. We, alongside our clients, will continue to push for that change until it is achieved."

Chairman makes 67 recommendations

Sir Adrian made a total of 67 recommendations, including three to address the "fundamental problems", including considering whether there should be powers to restrict or monitor access to the internet for youngsters if they pose a risk to others.

He urged the Home Office to take immediate action to ensure online knife retailers are complying with the law.

He also said phase two of the inquiry, starting later this year, should look at age verification for the use of VPNs to avoid them being used to get around age-related protections in the Online Safety Act.

Overnight, the US president accused Pope Leo of being "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy" and claimed that "if I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican".

In a spree of late-night Truth Social posts - including Trump-branded hotels on the Moon and other X posts from supporters - Mr Trump also shared an AI image of himself as Jesus Christ without comment.

He faced criticism over the image and removed it later on Monday.

But when speaking on Monday afternoon outside the Oval Office, he argued "Pope Leo said things that are wrong" as he appeared to double down on his earlier criticism of the pontiff over his comments on ending the Iran war.

Mr Trump said: "He was very much against what I'm doing with regard to Iran. And you cannot have a nuclear Iran."

He said Pope Leo "would not be happy with the end result", before adding: "You have hundreds of millions of people dead, and it's not going to happen."

When asked about the now-deleted post, Mr Trump suggested it had something to do with the Red Cross and insisted: "It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better."

Iran war latest: Trump launches extraordinary attack on Pope

Responses on Truth Social were atypically critical, with some followers urging the president to take the post down.

Brilyn ⁠Hollyhand, who served as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, wrote on
X: "This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don't need to portray yourself as a savior when ‌your record should speak for itself."

Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer and critic of transgender athletes in women's sports, who has appeared with Mr Trump at rallies, said she could not understand why he had posted the image.

"Does he actually think this?" she wrote. "Either way, two things are true. ‌1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked."

It's not the first time that the US president has shared AI images of himself: Last year, as Mr Trump prepared to order the National Guard to deploy in Chicago, he posted an AI-generated parody image of himself from Apocalypse Now.

The US president has targeted the head of the Catholic Church after he criticised the war in Iran, saying in a speech last month that God rejected the prayers of leaders who start wars and have their "hands full of blood".

He also called the conflict in Iran "atrocious" and urged Mr Trump to find an "off-ramp" and "decrease the amount of violence".

When asked about his Truth Social comments at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday, Mr Trump told reporters: "We don't like a pope that's going to say that it's OK to have a nuclear weapon.

"We don't want a pope that says crime is OK in our cities. I don't like it. I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo."

Pope Leo has never said that it is okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

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Meanwhile, speaking to Sky's US partner NBC News, Pope Leo said "I have no fear of the Trump administration", adding that his appeals for peace were rooted in the gospel.

"We are not politicians," he said. "We don't deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the gospel, as a peacemaker."

The Pope also told Reuters aboard the papal flight to Algiers that "I don't want to get into a debate with him... I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing".

Sky News has contacted the Holy See for comment on the post and Mr Trump's remarks overnight.

But while he is now set to lead a majority government after ousting Viktor Orban, Mr Magyar was once a loyal ally of the outgoing prime minister.

The 45-year-old served as a foreign affairs official under Mr Orban's 2010 administration before resigning from the Fidesz party in 2024 over a scandal involving a presidential pardon for a man convicted of helping cover up a sex abuse scandal at a children's home.

Hungary election live - follow the latest

The centre-right Tisza Party emerged as the strongest opposition party in Hungary after the 2024 European Parliament elections.

Mr Magyar has pledged to crack down on corruption, unlock billions of euros in frozen European Union funds, and tax the wealthiest, while reforming Hungary's crumbling healthcare system.

Most independent polls leading up to election day put Mr Magyar ahead of Mr Orban, and preliminary election results project that Tisza won 136 seats in Hungary's 199-member parliament.

The election saw a record 77.8% turnout, the highest ever in a Hungarian election, according to the country's national election commission, which says the "election process was conducted lawfully and smoothly across the country".

Voters in Hungary were angered after three years of economic stagnation and soaring living costs, along with oligarchs close to the government earning greater wealth.

Mr Magyar ran a "positive campaign" on boosting the economy, restoring healthcare and lowering the cost of living, according to Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett.

"All of these domestic issues really chimed with people's needs here. They were desperate for change and fed up with the Orban government," he said, adding that Mr Orban ran a campaign of fear.

'Real blow for Putin'

Bennett said EU leaders will also be delighted to see the back of Mr Orban, who he described as a "Russian Trojan horse acting in Moscow's interest".

"He would consistently try to block aid to Ukraine, try to derail and slow down sanctions on Russia", he said.

"So for Vladimir Putin, a real blow. But for Europe, for Brussels, this is a moment to celebrate. Because that persistent thorn in their side has finally been removed after 16 long, long years."

Mr Magyar said during the election campaign that voters had to choose between "East and West", warning that Putin ally Mr Orban and his confrontational stance towards Brussels would take the country further away from the European mainstream.

With Mr Magyar in charge, many European leaders will now be hoping for an end to Hungary's adversarial role inside the EU, possibly paving the way for a £78.4bn (€90bn) loan to war-battered Ukraine, which was previously blocked by Mr Orban.

In his first remarks after the election, Mr Magyar promised his government would work for a free, European and humane Hungary after years of claims of corruption and shrinking freedoms.

He thanked those who voted for him and added: "As prime minister, I will work every day and every hour of the day for our country's security and development, as well as for the wellbeing of the Hungarian people."

Sex tape blackmail threat

In February, Mr Magyar accused the Fidesz Party of "Russian-type" blackmail, using a secretly-recorded sex tape showing consensual relations between him and a now ex-girlfriend at a party nearly two years ago.

"Even in Europe, it is unprecedented for a ruling party to attempt to discredit, blackmail and neutralise its main political opponent by secretly recording their sexual acts using illegal methods and threatening to make the recordings public," he wrote on X.

In an accompanying video, he said: "Of course, I don't know how the images and audio recordings illegally recorded in the apartment with secret service equipment will be manipulated afterwards."

He said there were what appeared to be drugs at the party, but denied taking any and offered to do a drug test.

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Mr Magyar said a photo of the bedroom the footage was filmed in with the caption "coming soon" was sent to Hungarian media. The photo was also published with the words "once upon a time..." on a website apparently named after Mark Radnai, the vice president of Tisza, who denied any involvement.

Tisza said in a statement it stands by Mr Magyar and that it "will not assist in manipulating politics with secretly recorded materials and threats".

Rosie Slater, 33, used her connections with "wealthy, rich and famous people" to con 11 people who lost an estimated £4,000 in total, Staffordshire Police said.

Slater, who admitted 11 counts of fraud by false representation at a hearing in December, sat in front of the glass dock at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on Monday.

Prosecutor Kyle Padley said Slater, formerly of Betley in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, told her victims she had access to Oasis tickets, including the Wembley Stadium VIP box.

One man, who purchased 15 tickets from her, set up two WhatsApp groups and invited friends he thought might be potential buyers, the court heard.

In those groups, Slater offered a price of £130 per ticket, and some people sent her the money directly and booked non-refundable hotel rooms for the tour dates.

Mr Padley told the court: "It later came out the defendant was lying."

He said she was then interviewed by police.

"She said she started with good intent then it escalated out of her control," he said.

The defendant was handed a 12-month community order and is required to pay a £40 fine and compensation of £776.98 to five victims.

Some of her victims have already been refunded, the court heard.

Slater was also told to pay a £114 victim surcharge and costs of £85.

In addition, she must complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

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Simon Leech, defending Slater, told the court "she did not spend this money extravagantly" and used it to pay off household debts, including council tax payments.

Detective Constable David Stubbs, of Staffordshire Police, told LBC: "She does have connections with some of our wealthy, rich and famous people and has been fortunate enough to previously attend concerts, and due to this she was able to convince her victims that she had credible access to both the tickets and the VIP box at Wembley Stadium.

"No evidence has been found of any coercion. She has acted, we believe, purely out of greed, exploiting her connections for personal gain.

"This has left the victims obviously very upset. It's caused a lot of anger and hurt, really, particularly as she used some of the victims to attract more victims."

A Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation was launched in 2024 into the way Ticketmaster sold Oasis tickets.

It found the ticket website did not tell fans waiting in long queues that standing tickets were being sold at two different prices, and that prices would rise as soon as the cheap tickets sold out.

Ticketmaster sold some "platinum" tickets at almost two and a half times the price of standard tickets, without sufficient explanation that these offered no extra benefits in the same areas of the venue, the CMA said.

In response, the CMA said Ticketmaster must now tell fans 24 hours in advance if there is a tiered pricing system in operation - as there was for Oasis standing tickets.

Tickets for the band's reunion tour, their first gigs in 16 years, were also listed on secondary ticket resale websites for thousands of pounds.

A 31-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect and being a person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control resulting in death following the incident in Redcar last Thursday.

Cleveland Police also said on Monday a 36-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of being a person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control resulting in death.

Both have since been released on conditional bail.

Neither of them are connected to the family of the baby, Cleveland Police said.

Police were called to a property in the Dormanstown area on Thursday at about 1.30pm after officers received reports of concern for the baby.

The infant died at the home on Hardale Grove.

Upon arriving there, armed officers shot a dog in the street, and another dog located at the property was recovered and later put down.

Both dogs were assessed to not have been prohibited breeds.

"An investigation into the girl's death is ongoing and at this stage officers are treating it as a result of a dog bite," Cleveland Police said.

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Last Thursday, police arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death.

He was also released on conditional bail.

A 31-year-old woman sustained an injury to her arm as a result of a dog bite and was treated in hospital.

After the incident, Chief Superintendent Rachel Stockdale, head of local policing at Cleveland Police, said the force's thoughts were with the child's family after the "tragic and distressing" events.

"I want to take this opportunity to request that their privacy is respected during this difficult time," she said.

"There will continue to be a scene in place at the property alongside a visible policing presence as the investigation is ongoing."

The officer said anyone with information or footage about the incident should come forward.