Southport Inquiry to Examine Internet and Social Media Role in Violence

The second phase of the Southport Inquiry will examine how the internet and social media influence violence-fixated individuals. The hearings will also review the effectiveness of current laws and the regulation of knife sales. The public inquiry was established after the murders of three girls and knife attacks on ten others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July 2024.

An 18-year-old was later jailed for life with a minimum term of 52 years for the murders and attempted murders.

The inquiry chairman released a 763-page report in April after nine weeks of hearings at Liverpool Town Hall. The report contained 67 recommendations and concluded that agencies had shown a fundamental failure to take ownership of the risk posed by the attacker.

The report stated the attacks could have been prevented if the attacker's parents had done what they morally ought to have done or if agencies had put appropriate arrangements in place.

The home secretary gave the government's formal response last week, accepting the report's recommendations and promising to do whatever is needed to protect the public. Families of the victims and other survivors said they needed to see more evidence of action and that no one had lost their jobs over the failures.

The chairman will formally open phase two at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London before a break until 8 September.