Good Morning Britain paused its broadcast for a special announcement from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the latest instalment of the ITV morning show.
Presenters Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley were at the helm on Tuesday (January 21) morning, waking viewers with top stories from around the world.
The programme took a pause to cross over to Downing Street where Starmer addressed the nation regarding the Southport attacks, following the government’s decision to initiate a public inquiry after Axel Rudakubana admitted to the murder of three young girls.
Rudakubana, only 17 at the time of the horrific act, had been flagged to the Prevent programme on three separate occasions, highlighting a tragic series of missed chances to prevent the July 29 attack last year.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper declared the launch of a public inquiry “that can get to the truth about what happened and what needs to change”, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Before the Prime Minister’s statement was aired, Susanna informed the audience: “This is our breaking news this morning and we’ll bring every moment to you live.”
On Monday (January 20), Rudakubana confessed to the stabbing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class the previous July.
His guilty plea encompassed multiple charges, including the attempted murder of eight children and two adults, creating a biological toxin, ricin, and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual constituting a terrorism-related offence.
Despite the circumstances, his actions have never been classified as terrorism by the police because there was no evidence he was driven by a particular ideology, like Islamism or racial hatred, but seemed instead to be inspired by a fascination with extreme violence.
Ms Cooper emphasised the necessity for “independent answers” about Prevent and other agencies that had interactions with Rudakubana.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am
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