The 17-year-old arrested and charged with the horrific murders of three girls in Southport earlier in the week has been named as Axel Muganwa Rudakubana from the Lancashire village of Banks.

He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday 1 August and was also charged with 10 counts of attempted murder and the possession of a bladed article, after the horrific incident at a Taylor Swift-themed event on Monday 29 July.

Six-year-old Bebe King, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, died at the scene, whilst nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar lost her fight for life the following day, all dying from the knife wounds received in a frenzied attack.

The Cardiff-born Rudakubana was remanded into youth detention accommodation. He is due to turn eighteen next week and this is thought to have played a part in the ruling by Judge Andrew Menary KC to allow his name to be made public.

Misinformation regarding the accused identity and background had spread and had led to violent disorder in the days immediately after the shocking attacks, and this was the main factor behind the decision to make the suspect known.

Earlier in the day there was some excellent news from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital who were able to confirm that two of the children who were being treated there, had been discharged and were now continuing their recoveries at home with their families.

The accused will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on 25 October for a pre-trial preparation hearing.

Judge’s “exceptional” decision

The families of the victims and the defendant were NOT in court to hear Judge Menary announce that he believed that the continuance of a prevention of a full reporting order would now become a disadvantage to the case, as it was allowing mischief makers to “spread misinformation in a vacuum”.

He acknowledged his decision was “exceptional” but after careful consideration his opinion was that the balance had “clearly come down in favour of the public interest” for full reporting of the proceedings moving forward.

Incredible amount of money raised

The terrifying attacks carried out on a class of innocent 6-11 year old’s has shocked the nation to its core, as demonstrated by the remarkable sum of £340,000 raised in just 3 days in donations made to a Just-Giving page, set up by two members of the Taylor Swift UK & EU Facebook Group.

Statement from hospital

The hospital said it was continuing to treat five other children, and all were now in a stable condition. A statement read: “We are delighted that two of the children involved in Monday’s awful incident have now been discharged; our heartfelt sympathies remain with all those affected.”

The innocent victims

The three little girls who lost their lives have had tributes paid by family and their respective schools.

The youngest victim was Bebe King who was just six-years-old, and the family said no words could describe the “devastation that has hit them” and her Marshside Primary School headteacher, Natasha Sandland, said the community had been “left numb” by the awful incident. She went on to call Bebe “one of our brightest and most wonderful shining stars”.

Little Elsie Dot Stancombe, who was seven, was a pupil at Farnborough Road Infant School, and was said to be “such a caring and charismatic young lady who loved to please” by her headteacher, Jennifer Shepton; adding that Elsie was “one of a kind”.

Alice Dasilva sadly lost her fight for life the following morning and her family put out a statement which read: “Keep smiling and dancing like you love to do our princess, like we said before to you, you’re always our princess and no one would change that.”

Her headteacher at Churchtown Primary School, Jinnie Payne, described the nine-year-old as “the happiest of souls, and a true ray of sunshine,” remarking that she was known and loved by everyone, which was “testament to her unique ability to connect with others”.

Reluctant heroes making progress

The two adults who were seriously injured as they tried heroically to protect the children are Leanne Lucas and John Hayes.

Ms Lucas was the organiser of the dance class themed around Taylor Swift and it has emerged that she shielded two children and received knife wounds to the neck, arms and back.

The 35-year-old has undergone surgery and a family member reported that although she is “not out of the woods yet” she has spoken for the first time and everyone is preying for her.

Jonathan Hayes, who runs a business next door to the Southport studio where the horrendous attack took place, was in a critical condition after being stabbed in the leg and has also had major surgery carried out on him.

He had rushed to help after hearing the piercing screams of the children and refused to accept himself as any sort of a hero. He actually remarked: “Some would say confronting a guy wielding a hunting knife is utter madness”.

Although out of immediate danger following his operation, Mr Hayes faces an extended stay in hospital as he currently cannot walk. He remains upset that he couldn’t do more to help the children and said it would “take a while to process everything that had happened”.

Ugly scenes led by “outsiders”

The decision by the Judge to release the name of the accused, followed a night of ugly scenes when after a peaceful vigil to honour the victims, a large group of people from outside of Southport converged on the seaside town for their own “political purposes”.

Violent clashes with police left dozens of officers injured as bricks, bottles, rocks and fireworks were hurled in their direction. The rioters belief was that the suspect was an illegal immigrant, which was completely untrue.

The “sustained and vicious attack” on the police was condemned by prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who promised those arrested would feel the full force of the law.