Disgraceful that videos seen by Southport killer still online

Violent and extremist videos are still online despite government calls for their removal, the home secretary has told the BBC.

Yvette Cooper condemned tech giants for failing to take down disturbing videos, including footage watched by the Southport killer, calling their response “disgraceful” and a clear breach of their “moral responsibilities”.

Last week it emerged that Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three young girls and seriously injured eight other children and two adults at a dance class in July, had watched graphic footage of a knife attack in Australia and downloaded an academic study of an Al-Qaeda training manual.

Cooper told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that, despite her letter to X, Meta, TikTok, Google, and YouTube, much of the harmful content is still available.

She said: “I think, frankly, that is disgraceful, because they have a moral responsibility.”

In the home secretary’s letter, which was co-written with Technology Cecretary Peter Kyle, Cooper said that, while possession of the al-Qaeda study was illegal under existing anti-terror laws, Rudakubana had been “able to easily obtain access” to it.

Kuenssberg asked Cooper why, given her position as home secretary, she appeared to be powerless to stop it. The home secretary said the Online Safety Act, which comes into force this spring, will require social media platforms to remove illegal content. She warned that the government is ready to take further steps if these companies don’t comply.

Visibly angry, Cooper said: “They really should be doing more, but this will mean if they don’t, then there will be new penalties brought in. Much stronger action can be taken against them and then further stronger measures on the protection of children later in the year.”

Rudakubana, who had been referred to the Prevent counter-terror programme three times between 2019 and 2021 and was known to authorities including the police and social services.

Kuenssberg asked who was responsible for stopping individuals like Rudakubana, given that he had been flagged to multiple agencies.

The current system of monitoring and intervention is not working and “there isn’t a clear structure for responsibility,” Cooper said.

“Different organisations all have partial responsibilities, but that network collectively failed to identify the scale of risk that this young man poses.”

Cooper also raised concerns about how young people can be radicalised or influenced by violent content online. She said the inquiry into the Southport case must look at how these influences contribute to violent behaviour.

The BBC has contacted X, Meta, TikTok, Google, and YouTube for comment.