3 hours ago 
Image source, Facebook
Gary Poland said helium could "still perceive the screams" of the children helium failed to assistance
ByJonny Humphries
North West
The taxi operator who fled the country of the Southport stabbing onslaught and waited 50 minutes earlier calling 999 has had his licence stripped.
Gary Poland had driven slayer Axel Rudakubana to the Hart Space creation workplace connected 29 July 2024, wherever the 17-year-old walked into a Taylor Swift-themed creation store and began stabbing children astatine random.
Dashboard camera footage, played to the nationalist enquiry into the attack, showed however Poland drove distant arsenic screaming children streamed retired of the gathering successful what helium described arsenic being "like a stampede for their lives".
Sefton Council confirmed his taxi licence has since been revoked due to the fact that helium "did not conscionable the due standards".
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7 and Bebe King, six were killed portion 8 different children and 2 adults were severely wounded.
The Southport Inquiry astatine Liverpool Town Hall past twelvemonth heard however Rudakubana got retired of Poland's taxi without paying aft calling for a assistance from adjacent his location successful Banks, westbound Lancashire, wherever helium had fixed the mendacious sanction Simon.
Poland followed the teen and shouted that helium needed to pay, but was ignored arsenic Rudakubana made his mode up a formation of stairs into the creation studios.
Image source, PA Media
Gary Poland said did not telephone constabulary until 50 minutes aft the attack
As Poland drove distant helium called a person alternatively of the exigency services.
The enquiry heard helium adjacent collected different fare and dropped the lawsuit off, earlier speaking to his woman and yet deciding to telephone 999 erstwhile helium arrived location astatine 12:36 BST.
Poland, who gave grounds via video-link, told the enquiry helium "went into panic mode" and believed determination had been a shooting.
In his connection to the enquiry helium said: "I regret not helping the children, their screams were harrowing and I tin inactive perceive them erstwhile I deliberation backmost to that day."
Poland was quizzed astir the conditions of the taxi licence handed retired by Sefton Council - which states that drivers are successful a "good presumption to assistance to support children and young radical safe".
The conditions spell connected to state: "If, of course, you consciousness a kid oregon young idiosyncratic is successful superior information of contiguous harm, you should telephone the exigency constabulary telephone number, 999."
Image source, Family photos
Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar were killed successful the 29 July 2024 attack
Poland agreed with Nicholas Moss KC, counsel to the inquiry, that the guidance was "common sense".
The enquiry heard that Poland's nonaccomplishment to telephone 999 instantly did not effect successful a important hold due to the fact that creation people teacher Leanne Lucas was capable to marque a telephone herself moments aft the onslaught began, contempt being critically injured by aggregate stab wounds.
Sefton Council said successful a statement: "Mr Poland nary longer holds a taxi operator licence pursuing a reappraisal into his fittingness to clasp it by the section authority.
"The assembly recovered helium did not conscionable the due standards."
A spokesperson said taxi licensing hearings are held successful backstage and the precise reasoning for a revocation are not made public.
Earlier Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed the authorities would instrumentality the afloat recommendations made by Sir Adrian Fulford, seat of the Southport Inquiry, pursuing his study into its archetypal phase.
Image source, PA Media
The onslaught successful the summertime of 2024 sent shockwaves crossed the satellite
Sir Adrian recovered that a bid of systemic failures by assorted agencies who came into interaction with Rudakubana, arsenic good arsenic the nonaccomplishment of his parents to "do morally what they ought to person done", meant the onslaught could person been prevented.
In a 760-page study published successful April, helium called for the extremity of what helium described arsenic a "culture" of agencies passing work betwixt each different oregon downgrading their ain engagement successful cases specified arsenic Rudakubana's.
He said a "merry-go-round" of referrals, assessments and "hand-offs" - alongside the killer's autism being utilized arsenic an "excuse" for past behaviour - meant nary bureau understood the information helium posed.
Today Mahmood said: "We volition bash immoderate is needed to support the public."
She added that her section would present transportation retired the indispensable enactment "with the urgency it deserves".
The 2nd signifier of the enquiry is expected to see the adequacy of multi-agency systems to code the hazard posed by young radical whose tendency to perpetrate acts of utmost unit presents a important hazard to nationalist safety.
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