The three girls killed who died in the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday dance club in Southport have been named.

Merseyside Police said they are six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar.

Bebe and Elsie died last night while Alice, who was named by police hours before the younger girls, died in hospital this morning.

The girls were named as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visited Southport to pay his respects before hundreds gathered on the town’s main shopping street for a vigil at 6pm.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper later gave a statement in the House of Commons where she urged people not to “stir up division or advance their own views” by spreading “false information” about the attack or the suspect online.

Hours earlier, US pop superstar Taylor Swift said she was at a “complete loss” as to how to convey her sympathies to the families affected by the tragedy after it emerged the children were killed at an event themed around her music.

Meanwhile, two adults who were critically injured in the attack have been named locally as yoga teacher Leanne Lucas, who co-organised the dance event for six to 11-year-olds, and John Hayes, who works at the Hart Space where the stabbings took place.

Five other children are still in a critical condition in hospital, while the exact conditions of three other children injured are not known – but they are all being treated in hospitals across Liverpool and Manchester.

A 17-year-old boy from Banks in Lancashire was arrested and is being held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder following the stabbings on Hart Street.

A window cleaner has told Sky News he “locked eyes” with the attacker when he entered the Hart Space after a colleague noticed an incident was unfolding outside the premises.

Parents pay tribute to ‘our princess’

In a statement shared after the three girls who were killed were named, Bebe’s family said: “No words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as we try to deal with the loss of our little girl Bebe.”

The family of Alice said: “Keep smiling and dancing like you love to do our princess, like we said before to you, you’re always our princess and no one would change that.

“Love from Your Hero Daddy and Mummy.”

The families of all three girls are being supported by specialist officers, Merseyside Police said.

Read more:
How to speak to your children about what happened
Witnesses describe stabbings

The Portuguese government has confirmed Alice was a Portuguese national, and that her parents were originally from Madeira.  She was set to turn 10 in October.

Injured adults remain in hospital

Ms Lucas and Mr Hayes remain in hospital with critical injuries following the attack.

A post on a local yoga page on Facebook, with an accompanying picture of Ms Lucas, read: “I’m absolutely devastated.

“Please please pray for Leanne. Leanne came on my training course in December. A beautiful young creative girl who was so passionate about helping children.”

Mr Hayes, 63, was trying to disarm the attacker when he was stabbed in the leg, his wife Helen told Sky News.

Well-wishers have placed flowers at the police cordon that remains in Hart Street, with tributes also laid at the vigil attended by hundreds in Lord Street in Southport this evening.

People urged not to ‘stir up division’

The home secretary described the knife attack as an “unspeakable tragedy” in her statement to MPs in the Commons on Tuesday evening.

Ms Cooper thanked the emergency workers who responded to the tragedy and said their efforts represented “public service at its very best”.

Asking members of the public not to share misinformation online, she said: “It is extremely important that people don’t spread damaging misinformation online. False information has already been extensively shared in the last 24 hours.

“Those who do this for their own purposes risk undermining a crucial criminal investigation and I ask everyone to show some respect for the community in Southport and for families who are grieving and in trauma.

“In these dark and difficult moments, the police must be able to get on with their work and communities must be given the time and space to grieve and heal without outside voices seeking to use events to stir up division or advance their own views.”

The prime minister placed flowers among the hundreds of other tributes at the cordon on Hart Street when he visited Southport earlier.

Speaking to the media, Sir Keir said: “I came here to pay my respects to the victims and families who are going through raw pain and grief that most of us can’t imagine – I can’t imagine, as a dad myself.”

Sir Keir also shook the hands of firefighters and ambulance staff during a visit to Southport police station and told them he was “incredibly proud” of how they responded to the tragedy.

Football match cancelled

Southport FC was due to play Morecambe FC in a pre-season friendly tonight. However, the club said in a post on X: “Given the tragic events of today and following extensive engagement with relevant local stakeholders we have taken the decision to cancel tomorrow night’s pre-season friendly with Morecambe FC out of respect to those who have so tragically lost their lives, and to those who will be deeply impacted by this horrible tragedy.”

‘Swifties for Southport’ crowdfund thousands

Meanwhile, more than £215,000 has been raised by Taylor Swift fans via a “Swifties for Southport” JustGiving page for the funerals of the children who were killed and for the families of the injured.

The money will also go to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital where some of the victims are being treated and has been organised by the Taylor Swift UK & EU Facebook group.

Police were called to reports of a knife attack at the holiday club at 11.47am on Monday.

Witnesses have told of their distress in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

Some described it as “like a horror movie”, and others spoke of hearing “screaming” and seeing bleeding children running from the scene.

One parent – who did not want to be named – said his daughter managed to escape.

“My daughter was in it and she was traumatised. She ran away and she’s safe,” he said.