Southport suspect's terror charge delayed over 'growing fears of public disorder'

New charges against the Southport suspect were not revealed to the public for up to a fortnight amid growing fears of more public disorder, it has now been disclosed.

The revelation comes as the chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) warns that the anger over the delayed announcement highlights a "real crisis with trust in institutions as a whole."

The hold-up occurred amid the unrelated verdict in the high-profile Chris Kaba murder case - a 24 year-old shot and killed by an officer in Streatham, south London, in 2022 - with concerns that UK firearms officers could stand down in protest at the prospect of a colleague being convicted.

Last week Merseyside police announced Axel Rudakubana, 18, was charged with possessing terrorist material and producing the highly toxic poison ricin - on top of three counts of murder and 10 attempted murders after a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport.

That atrocity had already sparked violent summer disorder across Britain, fuelled by the far-right and culminating in more than 1,000 arrests.

Now it has been revealed that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) first sought permission from the attorney general's office to charge Rudakubana with possession of a biological weapon on October 15th, 14 days before the charge was eventually announced.

While the CPS normally makes decisions to charge suspects independently, there are a small number of serious offences - namely the biological weapons charge - that require consent from the government's two law officers, the attorney-general and solicitor-general.

Extensive plans were then made for a public charging announcement, with the CPS intending to notify the families of Southport victims on October 18th.

That day as many as 1,000 riot police had been placed on standby in anticipation that the news could trigger another series of violent demonstrations.

But instead the attorney-general's office did not grant consent until a week later, on October 22nd - it then took a further seven days for the CPS to announce the charges, on October 29th.

The Home Office, CPS and attorney-general's office have all refused to comment on why this delay occurred.

But sources say the delay was at least partially linked to significant concerns among ministers, the CPS and police that the announcement could prompt public disorder.

They pointed out that by October 18th, it had become clear the murder trial of Martyn Blake, the Metropolitan Police marksman accused of fatally shooting Kaba, had been close to ending.

During that week, it is believed, ministers had been making preparations for a scenario in which Blake was found guilty and hundreds of firearms officers went on strike in protest. When Blake was charged last year, firearms officers returned their weapons in protest.

This led senior government officials to raise concerns about the implications of announcing the new Rudakubana charges before the Kaba verdict, a source said.

On October 21st, the jury took only three hours to acquit Blake in a verdict that has provoked criticism black community leaders.

The following day, reporting restrictions were lifted, allowing the publication of Kaba's criminal background. He was said to be a core member of 67, a crime gang based in Brixton Hill, south London.

During Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in the Commons, Reform MP Richard Tice called for the police to be more open about its investigations.

Meanwhile Kemi Badenoch has suggested there are "serious questions to be asked of the police, the CPS and also of Keir Starmer's response".

But Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The police and prosecutors have an important job to do in their investigation, pursuing every avenue and taking the action they need to ahead of the trial.

"We must support them and ensure that everything possible is done to deliver justice."

While Emily Spurrell, chair of the APCC, said the furore around the announcement was a symptom of wider issues adding: "We are seeing this real crisis with trust in institutions as a whole - policing, healthcare, parliament, the government.

"When you see people peddling conspiracy theories, they hit close enough to home that then people start to buy into it who are genuinely just vulnerable or concerned about what's going on.

"Although the immediacy [of the Southport attack] is gone, we know there will be these touchpoints as the trial gets closer."