Rupert Lowe, the Great Yarmouth MP and leader of Restore Britain, has written an open letter to the Justice Secretary demanding that the transfer of Southport killer Axel Rudakubana from Belmarsh prison to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital be reversed.
Posting the letter on X, Lowe described Rudakubana in the strongest possible terms over the murders of three young girls at a children's dance class, and argued that moving him from prison to hospital effectively rewards him with a more comfortable regime.
Cost and Classification Concerns
A central plank of Lowe's argument is the shift in how Rudakubana will now be classified and cared for. Under the transfer, he will be treated as a hospital patient rather than a prisoner, a status Lowe rejects entirely, saying he has no interest in Rudakubana's welfare either mentally or physically.
Lowe also highlighted the financial dimension, pointing out that secure hospital care costs in excess of £300,000 a year, compared with roughly £60,000 for a standard prison place, meaning taxpayers will bear a significantly higher cost as a result of the move.
Calls for Solitary Confinement
Lowe's letter goes further than simply objecting to the transfer. He states that, were it his decision, Rudakubana would face execution, and dismisses lethal injection as an insufficiently severe punishment. Acknowledging he has no power to impose that outcome, Lowe instead urges the Justice Secretary to return Rudakubana to solitary confinement immediately, saying he wants him to "suffer."
Political Context
The intervention comes as Lowe positions Restore Britain, the party he founded after splitting from Reform UK, as a hardline alternative on crime and justice policy. Lowe has previously used social media to campaign on what he calls "two-tier justice," and this letter continues that theme by directly challenging a government decision made on clinical, rather than political, grounds.
The Ministry of Justice has said the transfer followed an independent clinical assessment under the Mental Health Act and does not change Rudakubana's 52-year minimum sentence. It is unclear whether the department intends to respond directly to Lowe's letter.
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