Police investigate attack by Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana on prison staff

Police are investigating an alleged attack on a prison officer by Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana.

The 18-year-old, who last year murdered three children in Southport, has been incarcerated in HMP Belmarsh after pleading guilty to his crimes and being sentenced to a minimum of 52 years behind bars.

He murdered nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King, six on 29 July last year, and attempted to murder others including eight children and two adults.

Sentenced to HMP Belmarsh, he is alleged to have heated up water using a kettle in his cell on Thursday (8 May) and then poured the boiling liquid over a prison officer.

The officer was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure, but was well enough to be discharged on the same day as they did not require further treatment.

The prison officer at HMP Belmarsh was discharged from hospital on the same day (Carl Court/Getty Images)

The officer is expected to be able to return to work next week.

A spokesperson for the prison service said in a statement: "Police are investigating an attack on a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh yesterday.

"Violence in prison will not be tolerated and we will always push for the strongest possible punishment for attacks on our hardworking staff."

Figures from the Ministry of Justice indicate that assaults on staff in prisons in England and Wales have reached the highest level for a decade.

In 2024 there were a total of 10,605 assaults on prison staff, an increase on the 9,204 recorded incidents in 2023 and almost triple the amount it was back in 2014 when there were 3,640 assaults.

Last month, Manchester bomb plotter Hashem Abedi inflicted a series of horrific injuries on prison staff at HMP Frankland as he attacked them while 'smiling and grinning'.

Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana is being investigated over an incident where a prison officer had boiling water thrown at them (Merseyside Police)

Abedi is the brother of suicide bomber Salman Abedi, who murdered 22 people in 2017 at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, and was convicted of assisting him in his terrorist attack.

It is believed that he used hot oil and 'homemade weapons' to inflict life-threatening injuries on multiple prison officers, with the convicted terrorist moved to HMP Belmarsh after the attack.

Following the Abedi attack, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced that the government would trial plans to give tasers to prison officers.

Prison Officers' Association (POA) chairman Mark Fairhurst said the idea did not need trialling and he would welcome it being done 'before one of my members is murdered'.

A public inquiry into the Southport murders started last month.