Southport killer Axel Rudakubana was under the care of an NHS mental health service for about four years before he “stopped engaging”, a hospital trust has said.

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust confirmed he had been under its care between 2019 and 2023.

A spokesperson for Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said it “welco)med an independent public inquiry” into the failures to identify the risk posed by the teenager.

The statement added that Rudakubana, from Banks in west Lancashire, had stopped engaging with the service in February 20