A statement is now being read on behalf of Heidi Liddle - the instructor who was running the class with Leanne Lucas on the day of the attack. Here is some of it:

I was in tears constantly and didn't feel safe in my own home.

It got to the point that the front and back door had to remain locked at all times - however all of the doors inside of the house had to be left open as I found it difficult to be in enclosed spaces and I was petrified of what would be on the other side of the door.

I replayed the incident over and over in my mind, changing the sequence of events.

I struggled mentally with not being physically injured and felt guilty for this.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

The court next hears a statement from Jenny Stancombe, Elsie Dot Stancombe's mother, who directs some of her remarks at Axel Rudakubana. Read out by prosecution lawyer Deanna Heer KC, here's some of what she wanted to say:

We are not going to stand here and list everything you have taken away from us, because we refuse to give you the satisfaction of hearing it.

We will not let you know anything about [Elsie] because you don't deserve to know the extraordinary person she was.

You know what you have done, and we hope the weight of that knowledge haunts you every single day.

What you did was not only cruel and pure evil, it was the act of a coward.

Though you have stolen our daughter from us, you will not take away our determination to honour her memory. We will carry her love, positivity and her legacy forward, no matter how much pain you have caused.

• As a reminder: Elsie, 7, was one of the three girls killed on 29 July. Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, and Bebe King, 6, were the other two murdered. Ten more people were injured.

A statement is now being read by the parents of Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, who was killed in the attack by Axel Rudakubana. Here's some of what they wanted the court to hear:

Alice was always very kind. A world of possibilities awaited her. She was a beautiful girl. She was a strong and confident preteen with a world of dreams.

That summer’s day she was so excited to go to the dance workshop. In a matter of minutes our lives were shattered and turned upside down we kept up hope every second of her 14-hour fight, but when she lost her fight we lost our lives. It’s shattered our souls.

It feels like we’re stuck in a 5D horror movie with moving pictures and moments being relived. We can’t get out. Some moments are easier than others but every day is the same. Alice is not here when we wake up and she never will be.

There’s a sense of loss of foundation too. Alice was our purpose for living.

So what do we do now?

Image source, Family photograph

The court's just heard another statement - this time from a teenage survivor. Here's a section from it:

I watched you stab someone and then I saw you coming for me.

It was like slow motion.

You stabbed me in the arm and instinctively I turned and that’s when you continued to stab me in the back although I didn’t feel it at the time.

All I could heard was the screams. I was so scared of what you were doing and I was in a blind panic.

Image source, Instagram / Leanne Lucas

Leanne Lucas - who was stabbed five times during the attack - has just read this statement to the court:

As a 36-year-old woman, I cannot stay in my own home alone. As a 36-year-old woman I cannot go to work. As a 36-year-old woman I cannot walk down the street without holding my breath as I bypass a person and then glance back to see if they’ve attempted to stab me.

As a 36-year-old woman I cannot enter a public place without considering how I will get out in the event of an emergency. As a 36-year-old woman I cannot give myself compassion or accept praise, as how can I live knowing I survived when children died.

There was a long period of time after the incident where I felt I had no trust in society. I am trying to see the goodness in the world however the badness has been evidentially proven to me to exist, in plain sight, on our doorsteps, in our community.

You never think this is going to happen to you, I never thought this was going to happen to me and now my mindset has been altered to it could happen to you and it will probably happen to you. I feel that I have lost the ability to accept people now as they are. I worked with teenagers, I never would have considered that they would hurt me or hurt younger children.

I spent many months thinking about the incident 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Just when I felt I could settle and try to move forward, the trauma of that day is now back at the forefront. I constantly see his face; new memories have appeared, and this will continue to happen for the rest of my life.

My role in Southport was to help others, mainly children and their families. My work was a safe haven for those who needed it the most.

All I wanted to do was make a positive impact and highlight goodness and positivity. Families felt a part of a community I had built, from scratch, being self-employed. I have now lost my role, my purpose and my job as I can no longer provide that guidance and reassurance to anyone.

I feel like I can no longer be trusted again, I know people will disagree and say that is not true however his actions have proven I can never feel that level of responsibility again where there may be dangers to others. On that day I received several injuries that have not only affected me physically, but also mentally. I, as do the girls, have scars we cannot unsee, scars we cannot move on from.

Visual daily reminders of not only what he has done to us, but a stark reminder of what others can still do to us. I endured three hospital stays where I undertook multiple surgeries and received treatment for my injuries.

At a time where home comforts may have helped me, I sat staring at a hospital wall further impacting my mental health.

My family and friends suffered during this whole period of time, not being able to process what had been done because they were sat by my bed side trying to support me. The trauma of being both a victim and a witness has been horrendous. There are times when I will spiral into trauma and the effect this has had on those close to me is unforgivable.

The impact this has had on me can be summed up by one word: trauma. He targeted us because we were women and girls, vulnerable and easy prey. To discover that he had always set out to hurt the vulnerable is beyond comprehensible. For Alice, Elsie, Bebe, Heidi and the surviving girls, I’m surviving for you.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Deanna Heer has finished outlining the facts and is beginning to introduce the victims' personal statements.

First is a statement being read by the father of one of the surviving children - he says he asked his nine-year-old daughter to explain the impact the events had on her.

The girl says: "It has been very hard to deal with what happened to me at Hart Space. I struggle with my emotions, and I have scars that I know will be with me forever, but I want to look forward.

"When people in school asked me 'do you wish you weren’t there that day' I said that, in some ways, I wish I wasn’t, but also, if I wasn’t there, someone else would have been stabbed and they could have died, so I’m glad I might have stopped someone else getting hurt."

Her father continues, saying that "her words both horrify us and make us immeasurably proud. Our daughter is strong. Our daughter is positive. Our daughter is brave.

"Our daughter is everything that Axel Rudakubana is not. She is our hero."

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

The court turns now to the week before the attack on 29 July last year.

Heer, for the prosecution, describes how a few days after Axel Rudakubana purchased knives on 22 July 2024, he booked a taxi in the name "Simon" to take him to The Range High School.

On this occasion, Heer continues, it seems that he was spotted by his father. As the car was about to set off, the defendant’s father ran out of the house and pleaded with the driver not to take him.

The defendant got out of the car after an argument.

Heer says: "It is unlikely to be a coincidence - the prosecution say - that this was the last day of term, with students due to leave the school premises at 12:30 for the summer. The court may infer that this was an earlier attempt to commit offences similar to those he was to carry out at The Hart Space a week later."

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Heer, for the prosecution, says Rudakubana was referred three times to Prevent (the anti-extremism programme) from 2019-2021.

The first, in November 2019, was for researching school shootings during an Information Technology class.

The next two referrals, in 2021, were after he uploaded to Instagram two images of Colonel Gadaffi, and had been found researching the London Bridge terror attack.

Following reports of incidents at home, Rudakubana stopped attending school in May 2021. Later, in March 2022, a place was found for him at Presfield High School, but he did not attend.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

We're now hearing about Axel Rudakubana's time in school.

He was enrolled at The Acorns School, a pupil referral unit, in Ormskirk on 17 October 2019.

During his admission meeting he was asked why he had taken a knife to his previous school, and he replied: "To use it."

On 11 December that same year, the defendant booked a taxi to take him to Range High School, he was carrying a hockey stick and attacked another pupil. When the police arrived, a knife was found in his backpack.

He was subsequently charged with, and pleaded guilty to, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a bladed article. A referral order was imposed.

The Acorns School refused to have the defendant present on the premises and, instead, Rudakubana was sent work for him to complete at home, which he failed to do. In July 2020, he returned to school under a two to one supervision. Then in February 2021, he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Deanna Heer continues to say that this evidence demonstrates that the stabbings on that day were premeditated and had been planned by the defendant for some time.

Heer outlines that when asked about the ricin and Al-Qaeda manual in interview Rudakubana remained silent.

The court next hears detail about Rudakubana's childhood and background - including that he was born in Cardiff and moved to Southport with his family in 2013.

In 2017 he became a pupil at The Range High School, Formby.

On 4 October 2019 he contacted Childline and asked: "What should I do if I want to kill somebody?"

In the days that followed he explained that he hated someone at school who bullied him. He felt angry and wanted to kill them, Heer continues to tell the court.

A referral was made to the police, who visited the defendant. He confirmed that he had taken a knife to school and added that he thought he would use it if he became angry.

The school was also informed. By this time, the defendant had been temporarily excluded - this was made a permanent exclusion when he admitted taking a knife to school on about 10 previous occasions.

Referrals were made to the Multi-Agency Safeguard Hub (MASH) and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Heer says that there were numerous images on Rudakubana's tablet devices relating to different wars and international conflicts, including in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Korea, Iraq and the Balkans.

This was in addition to violent images, including those of dead bodies, victims of torture, beheadings, cartoons depicting killing, violence and rape, or which insulted or mocked different religions - including Islam, Judaism and Christianity

"It was a very broad spread of material which provides a window into the defendant’s mind at the time," Heer says.

"It shows that he was fascinated with violence of an extreme nature, that he had obtained information on killings and how to kill and obtained weapons capable of killing."

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Heer now says that on Rudakubana's tablet devices, the police found multiple images of knives and machetes which he’d searched for on various online retailers.

He had sent emails to various retailers making enquiries about buying knives, she continues.

Some of the emails asked whether deliveries could be made in plain packaging and revealed that Rudakubana had also tried to purchase a knife with a 20cm blade on 21 June 2024 - but the order was cancelled when he failed to pay.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Heer, for the prosecution, continues to describe documents that the police found Rudakubana had downloaded - including one called Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual, which contained advice and instructions on committing acts of terror.

The prosecution outlines that the manual had been downloaded on three occasions in 2021.

By the time Rudakubana went to The Hart Space studio last July, he was in possession of instructions in the manual on carrying out a knife attack with lethal force, Heer says.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Heer says that although the evidence is clear ricin was produced by Rudakubana in his bedroom, there's no evidence that ricin was used either during the attack at The Hart Space studio or at any other time.

She goes on to say a machete in a scabbard, a set of arrows and a black holdall were also found in Rudakubana's bedroom when police searched his home.

A kitchen knife identical to the one used in the stabbing was also found in the living room, where it appeared Rudakubana had been sleeping, Heer tells the court.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Rudakubana has just started shouting again.

"I need to be seen by a paramedic - I feel ill," he shouts to the court.

The judge has him removed again, saying the court is aware Rudakubana has been seen by two teams of paramedics who deem that he is fit to attend.

Deanna Heer KC, for the prosecution, continues with her remarks.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Heer now tells the court about the discovery of ricin at Axel Rudakubana's home, following his arrest last July.

She says ricin is a naturally occurring toxin found in the seeds (or beans) of the castor oil plant.

It is toxic by ingestion, injection and inhalation, she says, adding that the symptoms vary according to the means of exposure - but will potentially result in death as a result of multi-organ failure and/or acute respiratory distress.

Heer adds that there is no antidote for ricin poisoning and only a very small amount of it may be deadly.

• For context: As well as pleading guilty to three counts of murder, 10 of attempted murder and possession of a knife, Axel Rudakubana also pleaded guilty to two terror-related offences: producing ricin and owning an al-Qaeda training manual. There's more on that in our earlier post.

We're hearing more now from Deanna Heer KC, leading the prosecution against Axel Rudakubana.

She tells the court about remarks the defendant made to police after being brought into custody, following the attack last year.

We previously heard he had said: "It’s a good thing those children are dead… I’m so glad… so happy."

Now we are hearing that Rudakubana also said: "I don’t care, I’m feeling neutral.

"Literally, such a good thing those kids are dead, 6 years old… So happy, 6 years old. It’s a good thing they are dead, yeah."

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Axel Rudakubana has re-entered the dock in court.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Mr Justice Goose, the judge in this case, has re-entered court.

He says Axel Rudakubana has been seen again and is fit to come into court, and at the moment he has indicated that he is willing to come in without disrupting proceedings.

The judge adds that if Rudakubana does disrupt things, he’ll be removed again - but that he is expected to be in the dock at the point of sentence.

While we wait for court to resume, it's worth remembering that as well as pleading guilty to three counts of murder and 10 of attempted murder, Axel Rudakubana has also pleaded guilty to two terror-related offences.

On Monday, he admitted to producing a biological toxin, ricin, on or before 29 July. Ricin is a highly toxic poison naturally derived from castor oil plants.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of terrorist material - namely a PDF file entitled Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual - which he had between 29 August 2021 and 30 July 2024.

Both the ricin and the study of the training manual were found as part of searches of Rudakubana's house in the Lancashire village of Banks after the stabbings. No trace of the substance was found at the scene of the stabbings in Southport and police said the poison they did discover presented a low risk to the public.

These details, and charges, have so far not been mentioned in today's sentencing hearing.