The Martyrdom of Lucy Connolly

Otto English dissects how the right united behind a symbol of the ‘free speech authoritarianism’ it claims is terrorising Britain – so real violence and its causes can go ignored

At 11.45am on 29 July 2024, 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana walked into a community studio in Southport and killed three children, and wounded 10 others, with a kitchen knife at a Taylor Swift-themed workshop.

Rudakubana had a long history of troubling behaviour.

From the age of 13, he had become increasingly obsessed with violent online videos and repeatedly made worrying comments about mass shootings. Teachers reported him to the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy, Prevent, but his case was turned down on account of him not displaying any extremist tendencies.