THE Southport murders, the grooming gangs scandal and horrendous examples of police corruption risk shattering faith in institutions supposed to keep us safe.

Sir Keir Starmer's Britain faces a crisis of trust if people conclude the state will protect itself but not the innocent.

Horror at the killing of the three children at the Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport is accompanied with dismay that Axel Rudakubana was not stopped from launching his attack.

The Crown Prosecution Service described him as someone with a "sickening and sustained interest in death and violence" and he had already been referred to the Prevent counter-terrorism programme three times.

It triggers memories of Valdo Calocane's 2023 rampage in Nottingham in which he killed three people. We now know he had been sectioned four times in less than two years and a psychiatrist had warned in 2020 there was the "danger" he would "end up killing someone".

The murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens showed how a vile predator could infiltrate the ranks of the police. The deeply disturbing Angiolini Inquiry found forces had missed multiple opportunities to stop him.

The grooming gang scandal also features the disturbing spectacle of professionals in public bodies watching a disaster unfold. Katie Lam MP this week asked in the Express how it is "possible that not one person has been convicted for covering up these industrialised rapes".

A truly national inquiry might unpick how social services, the criminal justice system and ministers failed to wake up to the scale of the atrocities. But there is no prospect of one being launched anytime soon.

Families with direct experience of institutional failure will not be surprised at the Government's reluctance to pull back the curtains.

The fight by the Hillsborough families for a full investigation into the FA Cup semi-final disaster demonstrates the tenacity and courage required to take on an establishment that has closed ranks.

In the worst scenario, not only does the state fail to deliver justice - it imprisons the wrong people.

The Guildford Four, convicted of the 1974 pub bombings, were behind bars for nearly 15 years and the push for the full story behind their wrongful imprisonment continues.

Likewise, there are calls for a public inquiry into the Birmingham pub bombings, for which six innocent men spent 16 years in prison.

It is frightening that Andy Malkinson spent 17 years as a prisoner for a rape he did not commit. He is now fighting for the "root and branch" reform of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Meanwhile, no one can argue that the criminal justice system is delivering on its duty to put actual rapists behind bars. According to Rape Crisis, three in 100 rapes recorded between July 1, 2023 and June, 30 2024 resulted in someone being charged - never mind convicted - that same year.

There will be devastating consequences for society if the British people conclude they cannot trust authorities to protect them or to act with candour and competence. A sense of shame that so many victims have been let down is coupled with anxiety that atrocities will be repeated.

Sir Keir Starmer, himself a former director of public prosecutions, must stamp on corruption and put the guarantee of justice at the heart of national life. He has seen the legal system, policing, parliament and now Government from the inside; he knows what is broken and he must put it right.