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Keir Starmer won't change law to give teenage killers whole life orders as chaos revealed

2025-01-24 00:00:00.0 每日快报-政治原网页

Axel Rudakubana in a taxi on the way to commit the horrific atrocity (Image: PA)

Southport monster Axel Rudakubana was able to hide in his cell after chaos engulfed plans to change the law, the Daily Express can reveal.

The Conservatives, under Rishi Sunak, confirmed they wanted to give judges the power to compel murderers to attend their sentencing hearings.

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Keir Starmer is under intense pressure to change the law (Image: Getty)

This led to numerous delays as officials tried to cram more into the legislation.

A source close to the Bill told the Daily Express: “It was a Christmas tree Bill.

“It became a vehicle for taking action on whatever the latest headline was, and ultimately we didn't get to do any of it because of that.”

Numerous amendments were tabled to the Criminal Justice Bill in May, including plans to jail killers who cause death “through abusive, degrading or dangerous sexual behaviour” for longer.

It also “made crystal clear” spiking is illegal, amid growing fears over the number of women having their drinks laced with drugs.

And child rapists were set to lose the right to make decisions about their children’s lives.

A standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker was included in the original legislation.

Whitehall sources told how “it was always can we fit more in”.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has confirmed it plans to change the law so criminals are forced to attend their sentencing hearings.

But if defendants are "purposefully disruptive" or "offensive" during proceedings then their attendance may not be appropriate, according to Downing Street.

Torture obsessed Rudakubana was removed from the dock twice after repeatedly shouting and disrupting proceedings.

One family member of a victim branded him a “coward” as he left.

The vile killer then told his lawyer he did not want to attend the sentencing hearing and vowed to disrupt the judge further if he was made to return.

Gangster Thomas Cashman, who shot schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel, baby killer Lucy Letby and monsters Jordan McSweeney and Koci Selamaj are all among high profile criminals to have not appeared in the dock after some of Britain’s most heinous offences.

It comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer ruled out giving teenage killers like Axel Rudakubana whole life sentences because of UN “laws”.

Defence Secretary John Healey revealed the UN convention on children’s rights stops Britain from being able to impose unlimited sentences on under-18s.

Mr Healey then suggested the Government could change the law to allow judges to impose whole life orders on teenagers.

But, asked if the Government would consider extending whole life orders to under 18s, the Downing Street spokesman said: “We’re restricted in our ability to extend whole life orders to under-18s by UN laws, something that the previous government recognised when it changed the law in this area previously.”

Axel Rudakubana's bedroom (Image: PA)

Police on Hart Street Southport, Merseyside (Image: PA)

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Asked again if it was being considered, he said: “On a specific point on whole life orders, that’s not something we’re looking at.”

He said the Government shared the public’s desire for “vile offender” Rudakubana to never “be on our streets again”, noting that he got one of the highest minimum terms in English legal history.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick, said: "Killers like Rudakubana should never walk free again. He showed not a shred of remorse, in fact he used his sentencing to insult the victims’ families. The thought of the taxpayer feeding and housing him for the rest of his life fills most with disgust.

"Yesterday Mr Justice Goose rightly sentenced Axel Rudakubana to the longest period he could. The law prevented him from issuing a whole life order because Rudakubana was just days away from his 18th birthday when he committed this atrocity.

"Lord Macdonald, who was Keir Starmer’s immediate predecessor as Director of Public Prosecutions has suggested public confidence may require that where someone is that close to a trigger age, judges should have some discretion in particularly bad cases to provide full life sentences.

"It’s right that the criminal law generally distinguishes between young people and adults. But in exceptional cases, there is a strong case for giving judges the discretion to act.

"Labour’s claim that international law prevents a change is a distraction ploy that overlooks the UK's dualist legal system. International treaties require specific incorporation through legislation to be enforceable in our courts. Starmer’s predictable attempts to gold-plate international law are no excuse for inaction.

"The Conservatives will be pursuing this.’’

Rudakubana was just nine days short of his 18th birthday when he murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29. Mr Justice Goose said he would have handed him a whole life order had he been an adult because of the seriousness of his crimes.

Mr Healey told Sky News: “There are limits on international, United Nations law that prevent us having a court system that will impose unlimited sentences on under-18-year-olds.

“But in practice, I can’t see this man ever coming out of prison. I don’t want to see this man ever coming out of prison and the judge yesterday – when he sentenced him to 52 years – was also quite clear he doesn’t expect him to come out of prison in the future.”

He did not, however, rule out the possibility when asked on Times Radio. “We owe it to those victims to consider and then deliver the changes that their memories deserve,” he said.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child bars handing children either a death sentence or imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

The Prime Minister and Lord Hermer, the Attorney General and Sir Keir’s most senior law officer, have made clear that the Government will always respect international law.

Southport's Labour MP Patrick Hurley said the sentence was "not severe enough" and he asked the Attorney General to review it as "unduly lenient".

He added: "We need a sentence that represents the severity of this crime that has terrorised the victims and their families."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, backed by shadow home secretary Chris Philp, said there was a "strong case" for amending the law to allow for whole-life orders to be imposed on people aged under 18 in some cases, which the Tories "will start to explore".

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were killed and harrowing details of the attack were heard at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday.

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The details of the injuries suffered by the girls were read to the court, with Bebe suffering a total of 122 sharp force injuries and Elsie being subjected to 85.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said the injuries suffered by the Southport murder victims were "difficult to explain as anything other than sadistic in nature".

After the attack Rudakubana told police "I'm so glad those

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