A British teenager on Monday pleaded guilty to charges of murdering three young girls in a knife attack in northern England in July, a crime that horrified the nation and was followed by days of nationwide rioting.

Axel Rudakubana on Monday admitted committing the deadly attack last July. Officials later said he had been referred to a government counterterrorism program three times before his rampage.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said agencies "failed to identify the terrible risk and danger to others" that Axel Rudakubana posed - and answers are needed about why.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, also pleaded guilty to 10 counts of attempted murder following the attack in summer last year

Axel Rudakubana, 18, has pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court to murdering three young girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport. Rudakabana,

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died following the attack at the Taylor Swift-themed class.

Britain announced a public inquiry on Monday into the murder of three young girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event last year, a crime that ignited days of violent riots. Interior minister Yvette Cooper announced the inquiry after British teenager Axel Rudakubana,