Axel Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a dance class last summer.
On the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, Rudakubana also admitted to the attempted murders of eight other children and two adults.
Other counts he pleaded guilty to the production of ricin, a biological toxin, and the possession of materials relating to the al-Qaeda Islamist terror group.
On the previous occasions he has attended court since the bloody July 29th attack—which triggered national unrest, in turn prompting the Labour government to clamp down on free speech—Rudakubana has covered his face and remained silent.
Not guilty pleas were last month submitted on behalf of the accused after he refused to speak.
After pleading guilty today, Rudakubana reportedly sat “with his head bowed facing the floor,” and did not speak again. The Daily Telegraph also notes that the families of the victims were not present as they had “all expected the trial to open on Tuesday.”
Ahead of the trial’s opening at 10:30 a.m. (GMT) today, an advisory from the government’s chief legal adviser warned reporters that
you may be in risk of being in contempt of court if you publish material or comment online that is inaccurate, unfair, or involves discussion or commentary which could influence the jury’s deliberations. This includes anything that asserts or assumes, expressly or implicitly, the guilt of Axel Rudakubana. This is due to the risk of potentially jeopardising the criminal trial.
Yvette Cooper, the Labour home secretary, also said “there will be a time at the end of this trial to discuss what happened and the action needed in response to this horrific tragedy.”
But for now, and until the proceedings have concluded, the priority for all of us must be to ensure justice is done.
A gag order on MPs discussing the case has previously been attacked as representing “the end of democracy.” Whether the government is more willing to talk about the attack and its aftermath once legal proceedings have come to an end remains to be seen.
Sentencing will take place on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. (GMT).
