Patrick Hurley, Southport’s Labour MP, and the Southport Conservative Association have called on the Attorney General Richard Hermer to review the custodial sentence handed to Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana on Thursday.
Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to imprisonment for life, with a 52-year term before he would become eligible for parole. Presiding, Mr Justice Goose said it was likely that Rudakubana would spend the rest of his life in prison.
Rudakubana avoided a “whole life order”, where he would never be eligible for release, due to him being under the age of 18 at the time of the attack. The 52-year minimum order is the second longest determinate prison term in British judicial history, after the 55-year minimum term handed to Hashem Abedi, the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi.
Overnight, the office of the Attorney General confirmed the case would be reviewed under the unduly lenient scheme (ULS) – giving his office 28 days to reach a decision.
Speaking after sentencing, Patrick Hurley MP said: “In my view, the sentence passed is unduly lenient. The crimes he committed were horrific and natural justice demands he spends the rest of his life behind bars.
“I have therefore made a request to the attorney general to have the sentence reviewed urgently, with a view to making sure he is never released. My community deserves nothing less.”
In a letter to the Attorney General, the Southport Conservative Association said: “We are deeply concerned by the sentencing of Axel Rudakubana, who received a minimum term of 52 years for the brutal murders of three young girls, Elsie, Alice, and Bebe, in Southport last July.
“Given the severity and premeditated nature of these heinous crimes, we believe that the current sentence does not adequately reflect the gravity of the offences committed. The loss of innocent lives and the profound trauma inflicted upon the survivors and their families warrant the most stringent penalty available under the law.
“We respectfully urge you to exercise your authority to refer this case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme, with the aim of reviewing and potentially increasing the sentence to a whole-life order.
“Such action would not only serve justice for the victims and their families but also reaffirm public confidence in our legal system’s ability to respond appropriately to the most egregious acts of violence.
“We appreciate your attention to this critical matter and look forward to your considered response.”
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office said: “There is a high threshold for a successful ULS reference. The sentence must be not just lenient but unduly so, for example if the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence.”
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