Starmer’s secrecy over Southport ‘could have put trial at risk’


Starmer’s secrecy over Southport ‘could have put trial at risk’

Published 5 March 2025 The failure to disclose “basic facts” about the Southport attacker led to “dangerous fictions” that could have prejudiced his murder trial, the terror watchdog has disclosed. In what may be seen as a sideswipe at Sir Keir Starmer, Jonathan Hall KC criticised the authorities for refusing to reveal details about Axel Rudakubana prior to the trial. Sir Keir had insisted that disclosing information “ran the risk the trial would collapse” in defending himself from claims of a cover-up. But writing in The Telegraph, Mr Hall, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, said withholding information could have been “far more prejudicial” than making the facts public. His intervention will add pressure on politicians to change contempt of court rules to allow more information into the public domain. The Law Commission, which advises ministers on new laws, has been asked by the Government to fast-track new contempt rules to prevent a repeat of the riots that followed the Southport murders.