The Southport attack would have been ‘severely worse’ if the doors to the dance studio were locked, a yoga teacher has told the public inquiry.
Leanne Lucas, who sustained injuries during the attack, was scheduled to testify at the Southport Inquiry on Monday, but Liverpool Town Hall was informed that she was ‘not fit’ to attend.
Her testimony was instead summarized from her statement, where she indicated that more lives might have been lost had Axel Rudakubana managed to enter, as he could have blocked the exit.
Seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, six-year-old Bebe King, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar lost their lives when Rudakubana, labeled in the inquiry as AR, entered The Hart Space studio during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 of the previous year.
Ms. Lucas explained in her statement that securing the studio doors, located on the first floor of a shared-use building, would have violated fire safety rules.
Inquiry counsel Nicholas Moss KC conveyed to the hearing: ‘She mentions that police highlighted that locking the door could have resulted in significantly worse consequences.’
‘AR would still have found a way in or would have waited in the car park.
‘Had the door been locked, Ms. Lucas would likely have opened it and been the first person attacked. AR would still have accessed the room, potentially obstructing the exit, putting more lives at risk, and preventing her from seeking help or alerting others.’
Yoga teacher Leanne Lucas has told a public inquiry the Southport attack would have been ‘severely worse’ if the doors to the dance studio were locked
(L-R) Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were all murdered in the atrocity on July 29, 2024
Ms Lucas, who has to deal with a torrent of online abuse since appearing at the inquiry earlier this month, said she had met all the guidelines required when organising the workshop.
She said: ‘This was all irrelevant when faced with an unforeseen life or death situation, a situation that should have been under control and prevented by multiple organisations and services that keep the general public safe.
‘Those organisations and services have let me down.’
Mr Moss said: ‘Ms Lucas’s reflection is that if she believed the event carried a risk of an attack she would not have delivered the workshop.
‘If she had foreseen it as even a possibility, she states, she would never have exposed herself or others to the risk and simply would not have run the event.
‘She states she has not held an event since and has not in fact worked since.’
Earlier on Monday, Jennifer Scholes, who owned the lease on The Hart Space studio, was asked questions about policies for locking doors in the building.
Axel Rudakubana is pictured here outside The Hart Space dance studio last year before he murdered three little girls
Ms Scholes, who ran pregnancy and baby classes from the venue as well as hiring it out to others, said: ‘The Hart Space had been open for nearly five years. We had never had an intruder or an unwanted visitor.
‘I don’t think anybody would ever have imagined that something so awful would have happened.’
Ms Scholes was in tears when she was asked about Ms Lucas, and said: ‘I think Leanne is a wonderful human being, an amazing teacher. I have had no problems with her conduct.
‘She was trustworthy, she was always there on time and I could just tell she genuinely loved her job and the children.’
She confirmed that on the day of the attack she arrived at the scene in Hart Street and Ms Lucas, who was ‘slumped’ at the side of a van, told her the ‘kids were being stabbed’.
The inquiry was adjourned until Tuesday.
