Top cop whose team failed to flag Axel Rudakubana also led bungled probe into paedophile

Dominic Scally headed up counterterrorism policing for the North West and was liable for officers who decided Axel Rudakubana’s behaviour did not warrant further intervention

A constabulary main whose squad failed to escalate concerns astir the Southport slayer had antecedently bungled a probe into a notorious paedophile.

Dominic Scally headed up counterterrorism policing for the North West and was liable for officers who decided Axel Rudakubana’s behaviour did not warrant further intervention. Mr Scally was handed the role, which oversees anti-terror programme Prevent successful the region, contempt mishandling an probe into enactment offender Domenyk Lattlay-Fottfoy, antecedently known arsenic Dominic Noonan.

A reappraisal recovered Prevent officers did not instrumentality Rudakubana’s obsession with massacre and utmost unit into account. Counter extremism advisor Charlotte Littlewood said yesterday: “Questions to the section Prevent team, societal services and constabulary request to beryllium answered.”

A twelvemonth earlier being promoted, Mr Scally was investigated by the constabulary watchdog for failing to support a 13-year-old lad from predator Lattlay-Fottfoy. The probe recovered helium led a radical of officers who saw the teen entering the enactment offender’s Manchester home, but told them not to intervene. Gross misconduct was not proven but helium was rapped implicit his readying of the cognition and aboriginal slapped with show measures and a improvement plan.

He held the Prevent reins erstwhile Rudakubana was referred 3 times betwixt 2019 and 2021 aft teachers recovered him googling schoolhouse shootings, the London bombings and Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. But each clip helium fell into the “mixed, unstable oregon unclear ­ideology” class and was deemed unsuitable for a voluntary radicalism involution programme.

He went connected to execution Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, successful Southport, Merseyside, connected July 29. He was jailed for beingness with a minimum of 52 years astatine Liverpool crown tribunal past month. He had besides pleaded blameworthy to producing ricin and possession of accusation utile for terrorism.

There is nary proposition Mr Scally was alert of oregon progressive successful decisions implicit his referrals. Mr Scally had antecedently headed the enquiry into the 2012 execution of Mark Short, 23, by gangster Dale Cregan, who aboriginal ambushed and killed PCs Nicola Hughes, 23, and Fiona Bone, 32.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said a Prevent reappraisal recovered the Rudakubana referrals should person been passed to the specializer Channel programme for intervention. Noonan was jailed for 11 years successful 2018 for assorted kid enactment offences.

Mr Scally and Greater Manchester Police, which runs Counter Terrorism Policing North West, declined to comment.