Good morning. I’m Robyn Vinter, the Guardian’s north of England correspondent, in court for the sentencing of 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana, who has pleaded guilty to the murders of three children, Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe, in Southport on 29 July 2024.

Rudakubana unexpectedly pleaded guilty to all charges on Monday, the day his trial at Liverpool crown court was due to begin.

The jury had not yet been sworn in when the teenager changed his plea to guilty for all 16 counts on the indictment: three counts of murder, 10 of attempted murder, possession of a knife, producing the poison ricin and possession of a terrorist manual.

The trial had been expected to last at least two weeks and the court was due to hear from the victims and witnesses of the attack, including the teachers at the Taylor Swift-themed dance class where the murders occurred, police officers who responded to the unfolding tragedy and paramedics who tended to the injured and dying children.

Pathologists, computer experts and a chemist had also been scheduled to give expert evidence.

More background here, as reported by my colleague, the north of England editor, Josh Halliday on Monday: