The Inquiry’s Phase 1 report was published on 13 April 2026, and is available below.
In publishing the report, the Chair emphasised that the Inquiry’s work has been conducted with the victims and their families at its heart, stating:
“Today is in recognition of Elsie, Bebe and Alice, of those who were physically and psychologically injured, and to the families whose lives have been irreparably changed. Our work has been to establish a clear, unflinching account of how such an appalling event occurred, and what must change to ensure it is never repeated.”
Key Findings
The Report opens with a chapter ‘Fundamental problems’ and concludes that the attack was foreseeable and avoidable, highlighting five major areas of systemic failure:
- Absence of risk ownership: No agency or multi-agency structure accepted responsibility for assessing and managing the grave risk posed by the perpetrator.
- Critical failures in information sharing: Essential information was repeatedly lost, diluted or poorly managed across agencies.
- Misunderstanding of autism: AR’s conduct was wrongly attributed to his autism spectrum disorder, leading to inaction and a failure to address dangerous behaviours.
- Lack of oversight of online activity: AR’s online behaviour, which provided the clearest indications of his violent preoccupations, was never meaningfully examined.
- Significant parental failures: AR’s parents did not provide boundaries, permitted knives and weapons to be delivered to the home, and failed to report crucial information in the days leading up to the attack.