Southport killer Axel Rudakubana faces trial over alleged attacks on prison staff, BBC News reports
Axel Rudakubana, who was convicted of the Southport killings, appeared at a hearing on Monday 19 October by videolink from Broadmoor Hospital, BBC News reports, and faces trial over alleged attacks on prison staff. The Mirror reports a 'sugar-water attack on a Belmarsh guard'. The Evening Standard reports an alleged attack on a London prison officer with boiling water. The allegations have not been tested in court. At an earlier hearing, Westminster Magistrates' Court was told he faces charges including attempted grievous bodily harm and assaulting an emergency worker, and he was remanded to appear at the Old Bailey.
Charges over conduct in custody are separate from the original sentence, so a trial would proceed on its own evidence. His move from Belmarsh to Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital, shows that his care and custody are being handled through the mental health system as well as the prison service.
Nothing here changes public safety measures. The case matters to readers following the Southport case, prison staff safety and how high-risk offenders are held.
The prosecution's account, as the Mirror and the Evening Standard report it, is of attacks on prison officers using boiling water mixed with sugar.
Reports note that the allegations have not been tested in court and that he spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth at an earlier hearing, so his defence is not set out.
Confirmed: Monday's hearing by videolink from Broadmoor and that he faces trial over alleged attacks on prison staff. Not confirmed: a trial date or his pleas. Watch for the next hearing at the Old Bailey.
DailyDrop U.K. edition No. 16 · Morning · TUE., OCT. 20, 2026