Southport killer due in court over alleged prison officer attack

Southport killer Axel Rudakubana will return to court on Monday for allegedly throwing boiling water mixed with sugar at a prison officer.

Rudakubana, 20, is serving a life sentence for the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 2024.

On May 8 last year, it is alleged he lobbed the hot water through a hatch on his cell door at Belmarsh prison in south London.

He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on Monday charged with attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

He is also charged with two counts of assaulting an emergency worker on May 6 and October 28 last year and possession of an offensive weapon in prison on June 26 last year.

It is alleged that two days before the hot water incident Rudakubana threatened to “soak” a female officer outside his cell if she did not pass him a newspaper and then threw liquid at her.

Rudakubana also allegedly punched a male officer who had challenged him on October 28 2025.

In June last year, sharpened stone shards thought to have been prised from the floor of his cell were found stuck to the underside of a shelving unit, it is claimed.

The defendant was charged on Tuesday, July 28 and the case was sent to the Old Bailey.

Rudakubana is due to appear by videolink from custody at 2pm on Monday for a plea and trial preparation hearing before Judge Mark Lucraft KC.

Published: 19/10/2026 by Radio NewsHub