Axel Rudakubana, the 19-year-old convicted of murdering three girls in Southport, has been moved from Belmarsh prison to Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital this week, the Guardian can disclose. Clinical assessments concluded that Rudakubana could not be safely managed in a prison environment, according to sources.
Transfer to Broadmoor
Rudakubana was transferred from the category A prison Belmarsh to Broadmoor in Crowthorne, Berkshire, after psychiatrists determined he required treatment in a secure psychiatric unit. In such units, individuals are treated as patients rather than prisoners. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson stated that Rudakubana will remain locked up and is unlikely to ever be released.
The move is likely to anger victims' families, who may argue that he was assessed as fit to stand trial in January 2025. The cost of his incarceration will also rise: hospital secure unit costs exceed £300,000 per year per patient, compared to about £60,000 for prisoners, according to Whitehall sources.
Background of the Crimes
Rudakubana, from Banks, Lancashire, was jailed for life in January 2025 with a minimum term of 52 years for the “sadistic” murders of Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine. He attacked eight other children, instructor Leanne Lucas, and businessman John Hayes at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July 2024 in Southport. He was also found guilty of producing the biological toxin ricin and possessing an al-Qaida training manual under the Terrorism Act.
Alder Hey children’s NHS foundation trust confirmed Rudakubana had been under its mental health care between 2019 and 2023, stopping engagement after taking a knife to school and later saying he intended to use it. He was also referred to the Prevent counter-extremism programme for researching school massacres, but no clear ideology was identified.
Recent Incidents and Union Reaction
In May 2025, Rudakubana attacked a prison officer with boiling water at Belmarsh, sparking an internal inquiry. Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the POA union, accused Rudakubana of “playing the system” to move to a more comfortable environment. Fairhurst said: “He is not mentally unwell. He is playing the system and is nothing more than evil. He should spend his entire sentence in solitary confinement staring at four walls.” He added that taxpayers would now pay Rudakubana benefits due to his classification as mentally unwell.
Legal and Clinical Process
Broadmoor, one of England’s three high-security psychiatric hospitals, has held notorious murderers including Peter Sutcliffe. Patients remain under strict security with locked wards, staff monitoring, and 24-hour CCTV, and receive mandatory therapeutic programmes. If treatment is no longer required, the Mental Health Act 1983 provides for return to prison. Sources said clinical assessments left ministers no choice but to approve the transfer.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The families of those murdered and injured in Southport will be in this country’s heart for ever and our thoughts remain with them. The offender who carried out these vile crimes will rightly spend the entirety of his 52-year custodial sentence locked up, and is unlikely to ever be released. High secure hospitals are not places of freedom. He will remain under constant supervision in a high-security psychiatric unit, and be returned to prison as soon as possible. The transfer of an offender follows a robust independent clinical assessment.”
