Southport Taxi Driver Stripped of Licence After Attack Incident 2026

• Gary Poland, the private hire driver who transported Axel Rudakubana to Hart Space on 29 July 2024, has had his taxi licence revoked by Sefton Council.
• Poland drove away as children screamed and fled the studio, described the scene as “like a stampede for their lives”, and did not call 999 until 50 minutes after the attack began.
• Dashboard camera footage shown at the Southport public inquiry in Liverpool Town Hall captured Poland looking in his rearview mirror and still speeding away while children ran from the building.
• Sefton Council confirmed the licence was annulled because he “did not meet the appropriate standards” required of licensed drivers, and his appeal was unsuccessful.
• Rudakubana, then 17, killed Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven; and Bebe King, six, and severely injured eight children and two adults at a Taylor Swift-themed workshop.
• Poland agreed with counsel Nicholas Moss KC that the licence conditions requiring drivers to call 999 if a child is in serious danger were “common sense”.
• The inquiry heard that Poland’s delayed call did not materially hinder the emergency response because teacher Leanne Lucas called 999 shortly after the attack began, despite being critically injured.
• Chris Walker of Bond Turner said the bereaved families welcome the licence revocation as a necessary step towards accountability where actions fell below public expectations.
• Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed the government will implement the full recommendations of Sir Adrian Fulford’s Southport Inquiry report, including reforms to multi-agency working and risk assessment.
• The second phase of the inquiry will examine multi-agency systems for addressing risks posed by young people with extreme violent intentions.

Southport (Liverpool standard) July 02, 2026 – As reported by the BBC in its article published on 2 July 2026, the taxi driver who fled the scene of the uk/local/southport/">Southport stabbing attack and waited 50 minutes before calling 999 has had his licence stripped. The driver is Gary Poland, a private hire operator who on 29 July 2024 drove Axel Rudakubana from near his home in Banks, West Lancashire, to Hart Space, a dance studio in the Meols Cop area of Southport, Merseyside.

Why was Gary Poland’s licence removed by Sefton Council?

As reported by the BBC, Sefton Council confirmed that Poland’s taxi licence has been revoked because he “did not meet the appropriate standards” expected of licensed drivers. A council spokesperson stated that “Mr Poland no longer holds a taxi driver licence following a review into his fitness to hold it by the local authority” and that licence hearings are held in private, so the precise reasoning is not made public.

The council’s decision came after the Southport public inquiry, held at Liverpool Town Hall, heard evidence about Poland’s actions on the day of the attack, including dashcam footage and his own testimony. The licence conditions issued by Sefton Council state that drivers are “in a good position to help to keep children and young people safe” and that if they feel a child or young person is in serious danger of immediate harm they “should call the emergency police telephone number, 999”.

What did the Southport public inquiry reveal about Poland’s actions?

As reported by the BBC, dashboard camera footage played to the Southport inquiry showed how Poland drove away as screaming children streamed out of Hart Space in what he described as being “like a stampede for their lives”. The inquiry heard that Poland had followed Rudakubana outside after the teenager exited his taxi without paying, shouting that he needed to pay, but was ignored as Rudakubana went up a flight of stairs into the studios.

While driving away, Poland called a friend instead of the emergency services, collected another fare, dropped that customer off, spoke to his wife, and finally decided to call 999 at 12:36 BST when he arrived home, 50 minutes after the attack began. Poland, who gave evidence via video-link, told the inquiry he “went into panic mode” and believed there had been a shooting. In his statement he said: “I regret not helping the children, their screams were harrowing and I can still hear them when I think back to that day”.

How serious was the delay in calling 999?

As reported by the BBC, the inquiry heard that Poland’s failure to call 999 immediately did not result in a significant delay to the emergency response because dance class teacher Leanne Lucas was able to make a call herself moments after the attack began, despite being critically injured by multiple stab wounds. This means that police and paramedics were alerted very quickly by someone on the scene, even though the driver who had transported the attacker waited 50 minutes.

What do the bereaved families and their lawyers say?

As reported by the BBC, Chris Walker, director of serious injury at law firm Bond Turner, said the three bereaved families he represented “welcome the decision” to revoke Poland’s licence “as a necessary step towards securing individual accountability for those whose actions fell below the standards the public should expect”. The families of Alice da Silva Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King have consistently called for accountability from all those whose conduct or decisions contributed to failings around the attack.

What did the taxi licence conditions say about protecting children?

As reported by the BBC, during his questioning at the inquiry, Poland was quizzed about the conditions of the taxi licence handed out by Sefton Council, which state that drivers are in a “good position to help to keep children and young people safe”. The conditions go on to state: “If, of course, you feel a child or young person is in serious danger of immediate harm, you should call the emergency police telephone number, 999”.

Poland agreed with Nicholas Moss KC, counsel to the inquiry, that this guidance was “common sense”. That acknowledgment, combined with the dashcam footage and his own testimony, formed part of the evidence used by Sefton Council when assessing whether he remained fit to hold a licence.

What happened during the Southport stabbing on 29 July 2024?

As reported by the BBC, Axel Rudakubana, then 17, carried out a mass stabbing at Hart Space, a dance studio in Southport, on 29 July 2024, during a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop. Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven; and Bebe King, six, were killed, while eight other children and two adults were severely wounded.

Rudakubana had given the false name “Simon” when he called for a lift near his home and got out of Poland’s taxi without paying. He made his way into the studios, where he began stabbing children at random. He was later jailed for a minimum of 52 years for the attack.

What did the Southport Inquiry report say about systemic failures?

As reported by the BBC, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed that the government would implement the full recommendations made by Sir Adrian Fulford, chair of the Southport Inquiry, following his report into its first phase. Sir Adrian’s 760-page report, published in April, found that a series of systemic failures by various agencies who came into contact with Rudakubana, as well as the failure of his parents to “do morally what they ought to have done”, meant the attack could have been prevented.

Sir Adrian called for the end of what he described as a “culture” of agencies passing responsibility between each other or downgrading their own involvement in cases such as Rudakubana’s. He said a “merry-go-round” of referrals, assessments and “hand-offs”, alongside the killer’s autism being used as an “excuse” for past conduct, meant no agency understood the danger he posed.

What are the government’s plans following the Southport Inquiry?

As reported by the BBC, in a statement, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “We will do whatever is needed to protect the public”. She added that her department would now carry out the necessary work “with the urgency it deserves”. The government has committed to implementing the full recommendations of Sir Adrian Fulford’s report, which includes reforms to multi-agency working, risk assessment, and accountability where agencies fail to act on known risks.

What will the second phase of the Southport Inquiry examine?

As reported by the BBC, the second phase of the inquiry is expected to consider the adequacy of multi-agency systems to address the risk posed by young people whose desire to commit acts of extreme violence presents a significant risk to public safety. This phase will look more broadly at how agencies assess, share information about, and manage risks from young people showing signs of violent intent, and whether current systems are sufficient to prevent future attacks.

What is the background of the licence revocation decision?

The decision to revoke Gary Poland’s licence follows evidence heard at the Southport public inquiry, which examined the events of 29 July 2024 and the responses of individuals and agencies. Sefton Council, which regulates private hire and taxi licences in the Southport area, conducted a fitness review after the inquiry disclosed dashcam footage and testimony showing Poland’s delayed emergency call and his decision to drive away as children fled in terror.

The council concluded that his conduct did not meet the standards required for licensed drivers, particularly in relation to the licence conditions that explicitly require drivers to call 999 if they believe a child is in serious danger. That conclusion led to the annulment of his licence and the rejection of his appeal, making him one of the first individuals directly involved in the attack to face formal regulatory consequences for his actions on the day.

How might this development affect private hire drivers and local communities?

This case is likely to influence how local authorities and licensing bodies assess the fitness of private hire drivers, particularly regarding their responsibilities when they witness or become aware of serious incidents. Licensing authorities may place greater emphasis on drivers’ duty to act promptly in emergencies, including making timely 999 calls when they have reasonable grounds to suspect a crime or a life-threatening situation.

For private hire drivers across the UK, the outcome may lead to stricter internal guidance and training on emergency response, situational awareness, and the legal and ethical implications of failing to report serious incidents. Local communities, especially those with dance studios, schools, and youth centres, may demand greater assurance that drivers operating in their areas are held to high standards of conduct, with clearer consequences for failures to act responsibly.

For families and young people in Southport and similar towns, the decision reinforces the expectation that all service providers, including drivers, must prioritise public safety and take immediate action when they witness potential harm. It may also encourage broader public discussion about how individuals can contribute to safer communities by responding appropriately to emergencies and supporting robust oversight of licensed professions.