Britain's Most Notorious Young Killer? Axel Rudakubana Charged Again After String of Alleged Prison Attacks

Axel Rudakubana, the teenager jailed for one of Britain's most shocking child murder cases, is facing new criminal charges while behind bars.

The 19-year-old, currently serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 52 years for the murders of three young girls in Southport in July 2024, is now being charged over a series of alleged attacks on prison staff at HMP Belmarsh.

According to the Metropolitan Police, Rudakubana has been charged with two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, one count of attempted grievous bodily harm, and one count of possessing an offensive weapon while in prison.

The alleged offences relate to separate incidents that reportedly took place between May and October 2025.

New Charges Inside Prison

The new charges Rudakubana is facing are centred on alleged attacks during his incarceration at HMP Belmarsh in south-east London, Britain's toughest high-security maximum-security prison.

According to police, the charges include assault on an emergency worker and attempted grievous bodily harm in May 2025, unauthorised possession of an offensive weapon in prison in June 2025, and assault on an emergency worker in October 2025, per Sky News.

Rudakubana was charged on Tuesday, 28 July, and is set to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on 11 September. British media reported earlier this year that Rudakubana, then 18 years old, allegedly scalded a Belmarsh prison officer with boiling water.

Speaking to the Press Association, a spokesperson stated in May, '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.'

A Conviction That Shocked the UK

Rudakubana was sentenced in January 2025 after admitting to murdering nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and six-year-old Bebe King during an attack in Liverpool on 29 July 2024.

Because he was 17 when the attack took place, the court could not impose a whole-life order under English law. Instead, he received one of the longest minimum prison terms ever handed to an offender of his age, meaning he is unlikely to be considered for release until the 2070s.

Growing Scrutiny Over His Time in Custody

The latest charges come just days after it emerged that Rudakubana had been transferred from Belmarsh to Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital. The move angered some relatives of the Southport victims, who argued that he was attempting to manipulate the prison system. Officials have not suggested that the transfer is connected to the newly announced criminal charges.

The allegations remain unproven, and Rudakubana has not entered pleas to the new charges. His appearance before Westminster Magistrates' Court in September is expected to mark the next stage in a case that continues to attract intense public attention, nearly two years after the Southport killings stunned Britain.

Rudakubana remains in custody as the new prosecution moves forward. The outcome of the latest case could further shape how authorities manage some of Britain's most dangerous offenders, while renewing scrutiny of security measures and staff safety within the country's highest-security prisons.