Gary Poland, the taxi driver who dropped off Axel Rudakubana before the Southport attack and waited 50 minutes to report it, has had his taxi licence revoked by Sefton Council. The council found that Poland did not meet the appropriate standards to hold the licence, following a review into his fitness to hold it.
Details of the Incident
On July 29, 2024, Poland drove Rudakubana to the Hart Space on Hart Street in Southport. Within 30 seconds of Rudakubana entering the building, Poland saw children fleeing and heard what he described as "four or five gunshots." Despite witnessing the chaos, Poland drove away, called a friend twice, picked up an extra fare, and only contacted police after returning home 50 minutes later.
The attack killed three girls: Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven. Eight children and two adults were also injured.
Inquiry Findings and Council Action
The Southport Inquiry earlier this year concluded that the murders "could and should have been prevented" if agencies had taken appropriate steps. The inquiry heard that Rudakubana had contact with multiple public services, including police, counter-terrorism, social care, youth justice, and the NHS, before the attack.
Sefton Council's head of taxi licences, Mark Toohey, told the inquiry that a licensing panel would review Poland's case. The council subsequently revoked his licence, and the ECHO understands that Poland attempted to appeal but was unsuccessful.
Government Response and Recommendations
In response to the inquiry's phase one report, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accepted all 67 recommendations from chair Sir Adrian Fulford. One recommendation calls for the Department for Transport to require local authorities to ensure licensed taxi drivers have a clear duty to promptly report any significant criminal activity witnessed while working. Failure to report, subject to individual circumstances, should place the driver's licence at risk. The DfT expects to implement this by late 2027.
Mahmood stated: "The Southport Inquiry identified fundamental failings, across many of our public services, in the years leading up to July 2024. These devastating failures led to the senseless killing of three young girls and violent attacks on others. We owe it to them to right these wrongs."
Phase One Report Failings
The phase one report highlighted five major failings: no agency accepted responsibility for assessing Rudakubana's risk; essential information was repeatedly lost or poorly managed; his conduct was wrongly attributed to autism, leading to inaction; his online obsession with violence was never examined; and his parents failed to provide boundaries, allowing knives and weapons into their home and not reporting crucial information before the attack.
The second phase of the inquiry is set to open next week with a one-day hearing before continuing in September in London.
