A Whitehall probe into the handling of Axel Rudakubana before he carried out the Southport attack has found ‘serious issues' with the counter-terrorism programme Prevent.

The report revealed the local Prevent team concluded Rudakubana was ‘not in danger of being radicalised' despite being referred three times before his fatal attack against a school dance class in July.

It concluded that despite an ‘absence of ideology' Rudakubana's obsessions with ‘extreme violence' and the repeat Prevent referrals should have been taken into account.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper said the case highlighted ‘serious issues' with training, repeat referrals, the treatment of potentially dangerous individuals when there is no clear ideology and what happens to cases that are not referred to counter-extremism programmes.