Violent content Southport killer saw should be removed now, says Reeves

Badenoch was asked about comments she made on social media after Rudakubana’s sentencing, saying it was “absurd that we are debating online knife sales more than we are integration”.

Earlier in the week, a Downing Street source had labelled Badenoch’s approach as “playing politics” and called it “surprising” at such a sensitive moment.

However, the Conservative leader told Laura Kuenssberg that there are “a lot of people” like Rudakubana who “despite being here from childhood or born here, they’re not integrating into the rest of society”.

“They hate their country,” she said. “And they are being told that everything about the UK is terrible.

“He had materials about white genocide.

“If you are being inculcated in hate, you are not integrating well. And there is so much that we can do across the board. Not just on religious extremism but also just extremism across the board.”

Pressed by Laura Kuenssberg on what evidence there was that the crimes were linked to integration, as the killer had been born in the UK, Badenoch said it was “one of the elements”. She said the evidence was her own experience with a similar background to Rudakubana as an African Christian.

Badenoch added that “the effort we make to make people feel a part of the whole is very limited and it shouldn’t just be government, it should be the whole of society”, with too many groups becoming insular and segregated.

She said the incident had affected her “really deeply” as her two daughters also love Taylor Swift. “When it happened, I could just imagine it being them,” she said.

Both Labour and the Conservatives are aware of the widespread horror at Rudakubana’s crimes, and neither wants to be seen to be falling short in their response.