Prosecutors have delayed charging Southport murder suspect Axel Rudakubana for up to two weeks over fears he could spark riots, it emerged tonight.

The 18-year-old, accused of killing three girls during a knife attack in July, was due to be charged with producing the highly toxic poison ricin and possessing a study of an al-Qaeda training manual on October 18, but the CPS and the Attorney General blocked due to fears that it would lead to disorder.

The mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29, which killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, and left 10 others injured, sparked riots in Britain, culminating in over 1,000 arrests. over the summer.

Police chiefs feared the revelation that the suspect had taken ricin and had information that could be of use to a terrorist would cause further unrest, so they made preparations to cancel police leave across the country at the weekend from October 19.

At the time, police chiefs were also worried about the prospect of firearms officers downing their weapons in protest across Britain if Scotland Yard shooter Martyn Blake was found guilty of killing gangster Chris Kaba in an unrelated police vehicle stop in September 2022.

Axel Rudakubana is accused of killing three girls during a knife attack in July. He was due to be charged with producing highly toxic ricin poisoning and possessing a study of an al-Qaeda training manual on October 18, but this was postponed.

Riot in Rotherham in August. The mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport on July 29, which killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, and left 10 others injured, sparked riots across the Britain.

In the event Blake was acquitted at the Old Bailey just days later, which meant that fears of a withdrawal of National Arms officers did not materialise.

Today, the Sunday Times revealed that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) first sought permission from the Attorney General’s office to charge Rudakubana with possession of a biological weapon on October 15.

While the CPS normally makes decisions to charge suspects independently, there are a small number of serious offences, such as the biological weapons charge, which require the agreement of the government’s two law officers, the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General.

Extensive plans were then made for a public charge announcement on 18 October.

On that day, sources say up to 1,000 police were put on standby, waiting for the news to spark another round of violent demonstrations.

In the end, the attorney general’s office did not give its consent until a week later, on October 22.

It took a further seven days for the CPS to announce the charges on 29 October.

The delay in announcing the charges, which came more than two months after the teenager was charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder, sparked immediate claims of a cover-up.

Riot in Rotherham in August. Sources say up to 1,000 police have been put on standby in anticipation of the news sparking a new round of violent demonstrations.

The three victims of the Southport attack from left to right: Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine. Since the Southport attack in July, social media has been awash with misinformation, rumors and lies about what happened.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said there were “serious questions that need to be asked of the police, the CPS and also about Keir Starmer’s response”.

Ever since the attack in Southport in July, social media has been full of misinformation, rumors and lies about what happened and how the criminal justice system is handling the case.

Despite the risk that any delay could lead to more questions being asked, the charging decision is said to have been delayed following significant concerns from ministers and the PSC that the announcement could cause public unrest.

The Home Office, the CPS and the Attorney General’s office declined to comment on why the delay had occurred.

But official sources said it was a complex case and time was taken to ensure that decision-making was thorough and robust and that steps were taken to properly inform all affected families.

It was suggested today that the Attorney General would act within days of the application being made and all decisions about timing, including when charges are announced, are for the CPS.

But prosecution sources claimed the CPS acted as quickly as possible on the information available.