Appeal Court judge to oversee the UK’s anti-radicalisation programme

David Anderson KC (PA) (39710618)

A JUDGE who sits on Jersey’s Court of Appeal has been appointed to oversee a programme aiming to divert people away from radicalisation following the murder of three young girls in Southport.

Lord David Anderson will take on the role of interim commissioner for Prevent, the body set up by the UK government in the wake of the atrocity committed by Axel Rudakubana in July last year.

The 18-year-old pleaded guilty to three murder charges after stabbing Alice da Silva Aguiar (9), Bebe King (6) and Elsie Dot Stancombe (7) at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport.

He also admitted ten charges of attempted murder relating to the attack, alongside producing the deadly poison ricin and possessing an al Qaeda training manual.

Rudakubana was sentenced to 52 years for the murder of three girls on Thursday 23 January.

Axel Rudakubana. Picture: PA COURTS (39707482)

Lord Anderson was appointed by UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to conduct a review.

In his role as interim commissioner, Lord Anderson will identify changes needed to ensure serious cases such as those of Rudakubana are not missed.

Lord Anderson is one of 12 judges for Jersey’s Court of Appeal, having been appointed by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015.

The crossbench peer, who practises from Brick Court Chambers in London, served as the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, writing reports which helped shape the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act, launched in 2016.

Subsequent reports written by Lord Anderson concerned improvements to intelligence-handling after the 2017 attacks in Manchester and London, and in 2018 he was knighted for services to national security and civil liberties.

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