A British teenager who murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event was jailed for at least 52 years on Thursday, for an atrocity prosecutors said was so violent it appeared he had tried to decapitate one of the victims.

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 is set to be sentenced and faces a long custodial term after pleading guilty to murdering three young girls at a dance class in Southport in northwest England.

I consider it likely he will never be released,” judge says, adding that Axel Rudakubana must serve a minimum of 52 years in detention for his “extreme violence”.

A British teenager on Thursday repeatedly interrupted the start of his sentencing for murdering three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event last July, shouting from the dock that he was unwell before being removed.

Axel Rudakubana has been taken out of the dock after complaining that he felt ill.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, will probably never be released, a judge ruled as he condemned the “extreme violence” of his knife attack on a dance class last year.