Police are investigating an alleged attack on a prison officer by Southport killer Axel Rudakubana on Thursday, according to a report in the Sun.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Police are investigating an attack on a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh yesterday.

“Violence in prison will not be tolerated and we will always push for the strongest possible punishment for attacks on our hardworking staff.”

The 18-year-old was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in January for the murder of three young girls in an attack on a dance class in the Merseyside town.

The report in the Sun has said that Rudakubana threw boiling water over the officer.

Rudakubana killed Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Alice Aguiar, nine, and six-year-old Bebe King at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July 2024 in Southport.

He also attacked eight other children, class instructor Leanne Lucas, and businessman John Hayes, who had tried to disarm him.

A public inquiry into the Southport murders began in April.