A taxi driver has had his licence revoked after waiting 50 minutes to contact the police following dropping off the Southport killer. Gary Poland drove Axel Rudakubana to Hart Space in Southport on July 29, 2024, before the then-17-year-old carried out a fatal knife attack that resulted in the deaths of three young children and injuries to several others. A recent Southport Inquiry determined that the tragic events could have been prevented if appropriate actions had been taken by authorities.
During the inquiry, it was disclosed that Mr. Poland left the scene of the attack after hearing screams and witnessing children fleeing the area due to what he believed were gunshots. Instead of immediately alerting the police, he made two phone calls to a friend before accepting another fare. He later contacted the authorities upon returning home to provide information about the teenager involved.
Following a review of his fitness to hold a taxi driver license, Mr. Poland no longer holds the license, as confirmed by a spokesperson from Sefton Council. Despite his unsuccessful appeal, the council upheld the decision after evaluating his suitability to retain a private hire license. The decision coincided with responses to the initial phase of the Southport Inquiry, which highlighted missed opportunities by various agencies to prevent the tragic incident.
One of the recommendations from the inquiry proposed that licensed taxi drivers should promptly report serious crimes witnessed while on duty, with failure to do so potentially jeopardizing their license. The Department for Transport plans to implement this recommendation by late 2027. Meanwhile, Mr. Poland is no longer licensed as a taxi driver in Southport.
In response to the inquiry findings, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged systemic failures that led to the tragic events and pledged to implement the recommendations to prevent such occurrences in the future. The inquiry is set to resume next week with further hearings scheduled for September in London.