Keir Starmer announcement today: Prime Minister to hold press conference to address nation - what time is speech, what is he likely to talk about?

The announcement will be made from the Prime Minister today (Tuesday 21 January) at 8.30am. He is holding the press conference after warning there are questions to answer on how the young victims of the Southport stabbings were "failed" by the state.

Rudakubana pleaded guilty on Monday (20 January) to murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, in a frenzied attack on a Taylor Swift-themed class on July 29. He also admitted the attempted murders of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

Mr Starmer said his thoughts were with the families of everyone affected, "who will be saved from the ordeal of a protracted trial". But he promised to "leave no stone unturned" as he announced a public inquiry into the killings.

The PM said in an initial statement on Monday: "It is also a moment of trauma for the nation, and there are grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls. Britain will rightly demand answers, and we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.

"At the centre of this horrific event, there is still a family and community grief that is raw, a pain that not even justice can ever truly heal. Although no words today can ever truly convey the depths of that pain, I want the families to know that our thoughts are with them and everyone in Southport affected by this barbaric crime. The whole nation grieves with them."

News editor of Times Radio, David Friend, posted on X, formerly Twitter, this morning: “Keir Starmer will give a statement in Downing Street at 8.30am on the Southport stabbings. It follows the announcement of a public inquiry into the murder of three young girls by teenager Axel Rudakubana.”