CBRN event in United Kingdom on Fri 9th January 2026

A teenager who "called 999 and referred to a Southport stabbings copycat attack" has pleaded guilty to terrorism offences.

The white British boy appearing before Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday (January 8), admitted to four counts of possessing documents likely to be used in preparing acts of terrorism, including a PDF file of an Al-Qaeda training manual. The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified at this stage for legal reasons, denied a charge of making threats to kill members of the public during a phone call to Merseyside Police on August 6, 2025.

However, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it would not be proceeding with the charge and it would be ordered to lie on the file when the teenager is sentenced. Prosecutor Adam Birkby explained to the court that the making threats to kill charge "will play the part of establishing the background of the police arriving at the defendant's address, why he came to the attention of the police and why the investigation started".

The court was told that police had not discovered any terrorist connections or motivations. Mr Birkby added: "What the evidence suggests is this young man had some ideations towards the type of incident that this city experienced in July 2024. That is what was referred to when he made the 999 call but we can't point towards a specific motive or ideology."

The teenager is believed to have told the 999 operator that he aspired to be like Axel Rudakubana, the teenager from Banks in West Lancashire who committed the horrific murder of three young girls and attempted to kill 10 other people at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Southport. Prosecutors said the now 17-year-old boy, from Kirkby, travelled to Southport, collected knives, researched Taylor Swift events and downloaded the same Al-Qaeda training manual as Rudakubana did.

He was also said to have purchased a green hoodie similar to the one worn by Rudakubana during his own mass attack. The boy also researched high school shootings, misogynistic incels, the Reform UK party and Islam, the ECHO reports.
Encrypted notes were also found on his devices. As well as the training manual, the boy also downloaded a PDF about the production of the biological toxin ricin and documents related to munitions and explosives.

The teenager was arrested at his grandparents' house on the day he made the call. He made an initial appearance at Liverpool Youth Court where he was remanded in youth detention.

His case was transferred to the Old Bailey in London on September 26 where the terrorism charges were added to the indictment. Judge Neil Flewitt KC, presiding, set a sentencing date of March 5 to allow for a psychiatric report to be created.

The judge told the boy, who was brought to court from youth detention: "It is highly likely you will have to remain in custody for a longer period." The boy, who sported shaved hair and a blue polo shirt and was represented by Philip Astbury, did not react.

Rudakubana was sentenced to a minimum term of 52 years in prison for three murders, 10 attempted murders, possession of the document and the production of ricin. But Rudakubana's attack on the dance party was not considered an act of terrorism as the law states the violence must be intended to advance a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.

Young people who do not display such an ideology are not charged with preparation of terrorist acts. But the counter terrorism-led de-escalation programme, Prevent, has seen a sharp rise in referrals for individuals with "no ideology".

More than half of referrals last year were for people who had not displayed any ideology but instead had an interest or fascination with general violence. The second phase of the Southport Inquiry, set up in the wake of Rudakubana's attack, is expected to examine if state agencies including the police, social services and mental health teams are equipped to manage young people with a fascination with violence.

Incidents like the Kirkby teenager's case will be the focus of the inquiry's examinations. Lancashire Constabulary Assistant Chief Constable Mark Winstanley told phase one of the Southport Inquiry: "It is far too easy for our young people, particularly those who are suffering with their mental health, to be influenced and to see this material and to then get access to weapons that allow them to carry out, on occasion, atrocities, the like of which I hope we never see again, but I fear that we will."

He added that "as a society, there needs to be systemic change" if risks are to be reduced.