Taxi Driver Who Transported Rudakubana Stripped of Licence After Fleeing Southport Attack

A taxi driver who drove Southport killer Axel Rudakubana to the dance class where he went on to murder three young girls has had his licence revoked.

Gary Poland, 57, previously told the public inquiry into the attack that he drove away from the scene after witnessing children fleeing the building. Believing Rudakubana had opened fire with a gun after hearing what he thought were gunshots, he called a friend, accepted another fare and did not contact police until around 50 minutes later.

Giving evidence in September, Mr Poland said he deeply regretted not stopping to help those caught up in the attack and acknowledged he should have alerted the emergency services sooner.

Sefton Council has since revoked his taxi licence, saying he no longer met the standards required under its taxi licensing policy.

Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the attack, murdered six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July 2024. Ten other people were injured.

Lawyers representing the three bereaved families welcomed the council's decision, describing it as "a necessary step towards securing individual accountability" for actions they said had fallen below the standards the public should expect.

The inquiry heard Mr Poland telephoned his best friend, Julian Medlock, almost immediately after leaving the scene. A transcript of the call, played at Liverpool Town Hall, captured him saying: "I heard these f------ shots and I just f------ shot off. Lucky he didn't f------ shoot me weren't it."

Rather than contacting the authorities, Mr Poland completed another fare before returning home. He eventually called police at 12.36pm.

In a statement to the inquiry, Mr Poland said: "I consider that I should have called police earlier."

He added: "In hindsight, I wish I had done and it's something that I do think about every day, what I should have done and how this is my fault because I drove him there.

"I should have checked on the welfare of the children and helped."

Mr Poland also explained that he believed he was in danger after confronting Rudakubana over his fare moments before the attack.

"I thought there was a gunman shooting at people and I believed this to be the person who I had just been shouting at to pay me a fare and threatened to call the police, so I did believe that I was in danger of being a target," he said.

In April, inquiry chairman Sir Adrian Fulford concluded there had been a "fundamental failure" by public bodies to take ownership of the risk posed by Rudakubana in the years leading up to the attack.

E&K Solicitors