Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been charged over a series of alleged attacks on prison staff at HMP Belmarsh, including one in which prosecutors say he threw boiling water mixed with sugar at an officer.
The 20-year-old appeared via video link at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday to face the charges, which relate to separate alleged incidents at the south-east London jail last year, the BBC reported.
The most serious allegation is attempted grievous bodily harm over an incident on 8 May 2025, when the prosecution claims Rudakubana hurled a mix of boiling water and sugar through the hatch in his cell door at a prison officer. Prosecutor Catherine Pattinson told the court that prompt medical attention meant the officer suffered no lasting injury.
He is also charged with two further assaults on prison officers. On 6 May 2025, the court heard, he allegedly threatened to soak a female officer if she did not hand over a newspaper, then threw an “unknown liquid” at her through his cell hatch. On 28 October last year, he allegedly punched a male officer in the face while the officer was trying to check whether he had taken his medication.
A further charge relates to the alleged possession of a knife or other offensive weapon in prison – said to be sharpened stone shards the prosecution claims were prised from the floor of his cell and found stuck to the underside of a shelving unit. Ms Pattinson said that when questioned by a prison officer, Rudakubana told staff he was keeping them “for self-defence”.
Rudakubana appeared from Broadmoor secure psychiatric hospital, where he was recently transferred from prison, and spoke only to confirm he could hear the chief magistrate and to give his name and date of birth. He was not asked to enter pleas.
He was remanded into custody and is due to appear at the Old Bailey on 19 October.
The Metropolitan Police charged Rudakubana on 28 July following an investigation into the alleged attacks in 2025, Sky News reported.
He is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 52 years for the murders of nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, six-year-old Bebe King and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and the attempted murders of eight other children and two adults, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport in July 2024.
