The UK law restricting what police can say about criminal cases is “not suitable for the age of social media,” the government commission said in a report released in the UK on Monday that it highlighted how misinformation was launched last summer.
The violent disorder supported on the far right affected several towns and cities for several days after a teenager killed three girls in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class held in Southport, England on July 29th. Few hours after the stab wounds, the attacker was an undocumented Muslim immigrant, falsely claiming that it had spread rapidly online.
In a report investigating the riots, the Congressional Committee said the lack of information from authorities following the attack “created a blank where misinformation could grow.” The report denounced British laws decades ago aimed at preventing ju judges' prejudices and stopped police from revising false claims.
By the time police announced the suspect was born in the UK, these false claims had reached millions.
The Interior Committee, which brings together lawmakers from across the political spectrum, released its report after questioning police chiefs, government officials and emergency workers during a four-month hearing.
Axel Ludakbana, sentenced to life in prison for the attack, was born and raised in the UK by a Christian family from Rwanda. The judge later discovered that there was no evidence that he was driven by a single political or religious ideology, but was obsessed with violence.
Karen Bradley, a Conservative MP who leads the Interior Committee, said “actors of bad faith” exploited the attack. However, she added that the lack of accurate information allowed her to lie.
“By not making information public,” she said, “false claims fill the gap, flourish online, further undermining confidence in the police and public institutions.”
The committee's report identified two false claims shared in X. One was posted about two hours after the attack, claiming that the suspect was a “Muslim immigrant.” I received over 3.8 million views.
The second was posted about five hours later, and the suspect mistakenly suggested that he was an asylum seeker named “Ali-Al-Shakati” who was featured on the “Mi6 Watch List.” The post received around 27 million views on X within a day. Merseyside police, the local army investigating the attack, did not announce that the name was incorrect until noon on July 30th.
A few hours later, the first riot broke out in Southport. The obstacle continued in several towns and cities, with many protests targeting mosques and hotels that house asylum seekers. Two buildings were on fire while people were inside. More than 300 police officers were injured during the riot, and their response cost police an estimated £28 million, or about $36 million, the report said.
It added that Merseyside police were “put in a very difficult position.”
The committee's report acknowledged that it is impossible to determine whether “if more information was made public, whether the disability could have been prevented.”
However, he concluded that the lack of information after the stab wound “creating a void that could grow misinformation and further undermines the public's confidence,” and concluded that the light-empt law “is not in line with the social media age.”
In the UK, the naming of suspects under the age of 18 is prohibited by law unless the judge gives an exception. Mr. Rudakbana was 17 years old at the time of the attack. Another law designed to protect the right to a fair trial prohibits the disclosure of information that could affect ju courts. That rule, which is part of the Court Act of 1981, is lifted once the defendant is found guilty or innocent.
Merseyside chief constable Serena Kennedy told the committee that the attacker was born in Wales on the evening of July 29th, but police have disclosed that misinformation had already spread.
Kennedy said that Ludakbana was not a Muslim and was planning to make an announcement two days later, making it clear that her parents were Christians. After notifying the Crown Prosecutor's Service, which brings criminal charges in the UK, officials told her that the information should not be made public, she said.
“This case highlights why we need to consider ways to make information releases public and ensure that it does not affect criminal justice trials,” Kennedy added that the light emptying law “doesn't take into account where we are in terms of the impact of social media.”
In a statement, the Crown Prosecutor's Office said officials had expressed “different views” about Ludakbana's religion disclosure but did not tell police that it was biased towards ju-seekers.
“We support proposals for legislative reform that will make the application of the light empty law clearer and simpler when it is linked to rising public interests in general such as public safety and national security,” the statement said.
Since the attack on Southport, the Law Commission in England and Wales has conducted a review of court law light empty.
