Southport riot unfolded after misinformation went viral
The answers on the Southport attacks that we all want will not come as quickly as we would like. Unfortunately there are those who are more than willing to fill the information vacuum in the meantime.
The Southport knife attack that killed three little girls and left eight children and two adults who tried to protect them wounded has shocked the community and nation.
These are horrendous crimes, committed against children gathered for a summer holiday Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Swift has herself spoken of her utter shock at the killings, saying: “I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to the families.”
The children who were killed have been named as Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. Young lives cruelly and brutally cut short.
The Southport community was already reeling from this appalling act of violence. Then on Tuesday night that heartache was compounded by the actions of a group of thugs, who damaged property and injured police officers.
As detail of what had taken place on Monday morning began to come out, some individuals on social media decided to weaponise the scant information that had been released for their own purposes.
Far-right activists as well as influencer Andrew Tate shared false information regarding the identity of the person responsible for the knife attack and speculation that he was known to security services.
Anger built on social media as people shared, falsely, that the suspect was an asylum seeker and that this crime was down to Britain’s lax action on border control.
Reform MP Nigel Farage posted a video statement repeating the claims regarding the suspect being known to security services, and demanding answers. It’s interesting that Farage did not attend Parliament that day instead, where he could have posed his questions in the Commons during statements on the attack.
With the narrative of who was to blame for this attack now decided, individuals claiming to be on the side of the victims caused criminal damage to the Southport community, stole from shops, attacked the local mosque and injured police officers.
Mosque chairman Ibrahim Hussein told reporters: “We don’t know why we are the focus of these people who came round throwing abuse and throwing missiles and throwing bricks. We don’t know why we’re being targeted in that way.”
Merseyside Police say 22 police officers were hurt and three police dogs were also injured. One caught fire and suffered burns to their leg.
Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss said in a statement: “Sadly, offenders have destroyed garden walls so they could use the bricks to attack our officers and have set cars belonging to the public on fire, and damaged cars parked in the Mosque car park. This is no way to treat a community, least of all a community that is still reeling from the events of Monday.”
There are calls today for the English Defence League (EDL), which is thought to have played a role in the riot, to be proscribed a terror group. This would make membership of the group illegal.
It’s impossible to wrap your head around what those individuals who assaulted police could have been thinking. Where is the logic in attacking officers who only one day earlier had apprehended the knife-wielding attacker at the scene and tried to save those young lives?
The truth is we know very little about the 17-year-old being held in custody over the stabbings.
We know he was born in Cardiff, to parents who had moved to the UK from Rwanda in 2002. The family moved to the Southport area in 2013.
The press, who will have the teen’s identify having pieced it together based on the Southport home that has been searched by police, have been interviewing neighbours. They paint a picture of a quiet teenager.
In the aftermath of a truly heinous crime it is understandable that people search for answers right away. I am sure the families are desperate for an explanation as to how such a vicious act could have taken place.
The answers that we all want will not come as quickly as we would like. But that’s how the justice system works, it does not keep pace with the demand for answers, because it needs to be methodical. Unfortunately there are those who are more than willing to fill the information vacuum in the meantime for their own gain.
That his name has not appeared in the press is not at all unexpected. He is a youth and has anonymity by law, and even if he were not the police never provide the name of a suspect who has not yet been charged. In previous cases where youths have been tried at crown court for serious crimes, the media has successfully had anonymity orders lifted. Again, we should not take the individual’s anonymity to mean anything at all. It is merely how the legal process works.
Amid the darkness cast by scenes of burning police cars, bricks being hurled and racist chants being shouted outside a mosque, some brighter spots have appeared.
The morning after the riot, volunteers from the Southport community began rebuilding walls that had been torn down by thugs seeking bricks as weapons. Children wielding brooms joined adults in sweeping up the debris.
Incredibly moving stories of the bravery that normal people showed in trying to help the victims have also emerged. Window cleaner Joel Verite described to Sky News how he carried children to safety and confronted the attacker.
These stories remind us that there is light to be found in the darkness in the face of such ugly aggression.
It is impossible to imagine the agony of the families whose children and loved ones were targeted this week. We can show our kindness and compassion to them by giving them space to come to terms with what has taken place, condemning hate, and allowing the justice system to do its job. Answers will come.
Police have been given more time to question the 17-year-old suspect being held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in connection with the Southport attack.
News this week
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in a rocket strike in Iran. Haniyeh led the terror group from outside Gaza in recent years, moving between Turkey and Qatar. Israel has not claimed responsibility, but is thought to be behind the killing. Haniyeh was a key part of the ceasefire negotiations and it is not known how this may impact the progress of bringing about an end to hostilities and releasing the remaining hostages held in Gaza. There are concerns this could lead to a wider conflict in the Middle East. Sabri Saidam, deputy secretary general of the Central Committee of the ruling party, Fatah, told the BBC: “Not only did I feel that Israel was targeting the life of Ismail Haniyeh, but rather the life of any settlement in the region. Israel has killed all hopes and aspirations for an end to hostilities.” The New York Times writes: “The assassination in Tehran leaves Israel facing potential responses from both Hamas and Hezbollah for attacks on their leaders, and from Iran for the killing within its borders.” Israel has also this week killed a Hezbollah commander after carrying out an air strike in Lebanon. This was in retaliation for a rocket attack on the Golan Heights on Saturday that killed 12 people, including children.
The new chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced an end to the winter fuel payment for some pensioners. It will no longer go to those not in receipt of pension credit or certain other means-tested benefits. Charity Age UK says it strongly opposes the move, “because it means as many as 2 million pensioners who badly need the money to stay warm this winter will not receive it and will be in serious trouble as a result”.
In her statement to the Commons this week, Reeves said the financial situation inherited by the Labour government is worse than previously thought. This is setting the scene for more tax rises and cuts. Inheritance tax and capital gains tax seem likely targets, given Labour has ruled out increasing income tax, VAT and national insurance. Sky News wrote this week: "Make no mistake, this is not the worst of what Ms Reeves will have to announce.”
Former BBC News presenter Huw Edwards has pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. Among the images was one of a boy aged between seven and nine. The charge of making indecent images refers to viewing or downloading images, not taking them. Edwards received the 41 images via WhatsApp between 2020 and 2021. The court heard that Edwards had been involved in an online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and April 2022. The man sent Edwards 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children. The bulk of these - 36 images - were sent during a two-month period. The ex-presenter will be sentenced on September 16. The news comes a week after it was revealed that Edwards received a pay rise of £40,000 from the BBC last year while he was suspended from the corporation. In the corporation's annual report, it was revealed that Edwards earned between £475,000-£479,999, up from £435,000-£439,999 in the previous report.
A ban on puberty blockers introduced by the previous government using emergency legislation was lawful, the High Court has ruled. The use of the drugs for children and young people with gender dysphoria was restricted under emergency powers at the end of May. A trans campaign group then took legal action, arguing that she had failed to consult patient groups and misused the emergency process. Health secretary Wes Streeting said he welcomed the court ruling, saying that children's healthcare must be “evidence-led". The case follows the review by Hilary Cass earlier this year which found a lack of evidence around treatment for under-18s with puberty-blocking drugs.
A Times interview with the “trad wife” behind the Ballerina Farm Instagram account (9.4m followers and counting) has gone viral. In the article Hannah Neeleman speaks about her life on a farm in rural Utah, and it has sparked quite a lot of debate due to the lifestyle the former ballerina now finds herself in. If you are unfamiliar with the term, trad wife refers to a woman who has embraced traditional gender roles where the wife operates as mother and homemaker. The journalist struggled to get alone time with Neeleman, as her husband tagged along for most of the interview, but this stands out from the article: “Daniel wanted to live in the great western wilds, so they did; he wanted to farm, so they do; he likes date nights once a week, so they go (they have a babysitter on those evenings); he didn’t want nannies in the house, so there aren’t any. The only space earmarked to be Neeleman’s own — a small barn she wanted to convert into a ballet studio — ended up becoming the kids’ schoolroom.”
Kamala Harris, who is certain to be the Democrats’ presidential candidate, has challenged Donald Trump to go ahead with a debate that had been scheduled for September. The former president says he won’t commit to the debate until Harris is confirmed as a the candidate. She said at a rally in Atlanta: ”Donald, I do hope you'll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage because, as the saying goes, if you got something to say, say it to my face.”
Online claims that Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, had sex with a couch have become so widespread they’ve almost become adopted as fact. This is in part thanks to mainstream media organisations like Fox News directly addressing them, bringing out of casual meme territory and turning them into a talking point. The person responsible for starting the avalanche of memes has spoken out, saying he made up the false claim it because the Ohio senator gives off “couch fucker” vibes. For clarity, Vance’s book Hillbilly Elegy, does not contain any reference to Vance having had sex with a couch.
A judge has issued an arrest warrant for former glamour model Katie Price after she failed to attend a bankruptcy hearing. Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Catherine Burton said Ms Price had received “very clear warnings” that she must attend the hearing on Tuesday. Price was declared bankrupt for a second time in March due to an unpaid tax bill worth more than £750,000 owed to HM Revenue & Customs. Reacting to the news online, Price claimed the media was trying to cause “continued humiliation to myself and family” but was “neither embarrassed or ashamed”, adding that: “I have to continue in my work in order to satisfy these bankruptcy orders.” Price is in Instanbul filming a documentary regarding corrective surgeries.
A €475,000 lobster dinner for King Charles helped push France’s Élysée Palace — the office of President Emmanuel Macron —to a record high deficit last year. Macron hosted the British head of state in September last year at Versailles for a star-studded feast. The dinner, during which guests enjoyed blue lobster and rose macaroons cost the French presidency close to €475,000 — including over €165,000 on catering and over €40,000 on wine (including a bottle of 2004 Château Mouton Rothschild) and other drinks.
Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd has opened up about the “exhausting and extremely upsetting” stalking he allegedly endured from the woman who is suing Netflix over her portrayal in the hit series. Fiona Harvey is accusing the company of “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence” and “violations of [her] right to privacy”, and is seeking $170 million in damages. In a court filing on Monday, Richard detailed “stalking, harassment, abuse and threats” that he allegedly suffered from Harvey between 2014 and 2017. He has submitted hundreds of emails and records of voicemails that Harvey left him while the harassment was taking place. The legal filing also reveals that Harvey was never arrested and charged with a crime like the stalker in Baby Reindeer was, but she was issued with a first instance harassment warning by police.
Taylor Swift fans swarmed a hill in Munich with the perfect view to watch her concert at the nearby Olympic Stadium.
Need a guide to Team GB’s potential medal wins at the Olympics? Check out this brilliant Olympics Preview.
What I’m watching
Twisters (in cinemas). A thoroughly enjoyable watch that very much embraces the pace and fun of the original Twister movie. Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones have perfect chemistry. My only criticism would be that the science behind it sounds utterly ludicrous to me, but I’m happy for a meteorologist to wade in and disagree!
Brats (Disney+). This documentary by Brat Pack member Andrew McCarthy is a feature-length whinge about how being labelled a “brat” impacted his life. McCarthy speaks to fellow Brat Pack alumni including Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore in his quest for answers about what it means to be labelled a “brat”. For those who do not know, the Brat Pack is the label given to a group of 80s movie stars who dominated cinema at the time, were young and, according to the journalist who coined the term, behaved like brats. One of the best parts of the movie is where McCarthy confronts that journalist, David Blum. Blum explains it was just a phrase he thought of to play on the term Rat Pack, and he regrets nothing - you can read his thoughts in this Vulture article. McCarthy didn’t get the apology or regret from Blum he had perhaps hoped, but I enjoyed watching this because of the nostalgia of looking back at those 80s movies. By the end of the documentary I couldn’t help but feel that McCarthy himself had given the term Brat Pack way too much power over himself and his career.
Thank you for being here. If you are able to, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription in order to support my writing here and on Instagram.
Sorry I only ever comment on your viewing! Andrew McCarthy deserves that sobriquet IMO — he did nothing to persuade me otherwise in that documentary. Imagine spending so long thinking about it.