Southport killer Axel Rudakubana appeared in court today facing allegations that he assaulted prison staff at HMP Belmarsh.
The 20-year-old joined the hearing by videolink, dressed in a grey-and-black striped tracksuit. He spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that Rudakubana allegedly threw boiling water at a prison officer through the hatch of his cell door after acquiring a kettle.
Prosecutors said he combined the water with sugar, creating a hot, sticky mixture described as “prison napalm”, before pouring it over Andrew Kemmish on May 6 last year.
Mr Kemmish received medical treatment soon afterwards, helping to avoid permanent injury. He was discharged later that day and subsequently returned to work.
Rudakubana is also accused of carrying out further attacks against prison officers.
Before the kettle incident, he allegedly threatened to douse a female officer after she refused to give him a newspaper.
The court was also told that he allegedly punched a male guard in the face after the officer asked whether he had taken his medication.
A court artist’s sketch shows Southport killer Axel Rudakubana, 20, appearing by videolink in a grey-and-black striped tracksuit while flanked by security guards
He is additionally charged with possessing fragments of stone inside the prison.
Prosecutor Catherine Pattison alleged that Rudakubana removed the shards from the floor of his cell and sharpened them.
The fragments were later discovered attached to the underside of a shelving unit.
Following the boiling-water attack, the triple killer allegedly told prison staff he believed officers had been poisoning food.
Ms Pattison said that, when questioned by a prison officer, he claimed he was keeping the shards “for self-defence”.
Throughout the short hearing, Rudakubana sat with his head resting in his hands.
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He appeared from a secure unit at Broadmoor Hospital, with three security guards standing behind him and monitoring the proceedings.
No pleas were entered in court.
He faces a charge of assaulting an emergency worker on May 6, 2025, along with a count of attempted grievous bodily harm relating to an incident two days later.
Rudakubana is also accused of unlawfully possessing an offensive weapon in prison on June 26 and assaulting an emergency worker on October 28.
The defendant displayed little emotion during the hearing, muttering “yeah” when Senior District Judge Howard Riddle asked whether he could hear what was being said.
He will next appear at the Old Bailey on October 19.
Rudakubana was given a life sentence for the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults.
He carried out the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29, 2024.
In July this year, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that he was transferred from prison to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital.
Offenders who present an increased risk and cannot be managed safely in a prison environment because of mental disorders can be moved to secure psychiatric units, where they are treated as patients rather than prisoners.
Broadmoor, in Berkshire, is the oldest of the UK’s three high-security hospitals and has held some of the UK’s most high-profile criminals, including Ronnie Kray and serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, also known as the Yorkshire Ripper.
Under the Mental Health Act, officials acting for the Justice Secretary have no choice but to accept the advice of clinical professionals to transfer prisoners to a secure facility.
An offender in a secure hospital will be compelled to engage with treatment and to undertake therapies before any return to prison or release into the community.
Where offenders no longer require treatment in hospital, the Act allows a swift return to prison.