Police issue warning after ‘incorrect’ name for Southport suspect posted online

Merseyside Police have issued a warning after an “incorrect” name for the alleged Southport attacker was widely circulated online.

Inaccurate posts by social media sleuths about the identity of the perpetrator have received millions of views and engagements.

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, remains in custody accused of murder and attempted murder following the incident.

Sunder Katwala, director of the thinktank British Future, said a fake news channel seemed to have invented a fake name and run a false story.

He made the greats greater: Tim Burgess leads tributes to bassist Herbie Flowers

Some of those “sharing that false information” include actor Laurence Fox and former kickboxer Andrew Tate, Mr Katwala said, posting on X.

Mr Katwala said the “pace” with which misinformation was spreading after the incident “presents important challenges to social media platforms and ultimately for policymakers as regulators and lawmakers if platforms cannot respond.”

He told the PA news agency: “There are different types of bad faith actor spreading misinformation at pace in heightened circumstances.

“There may be low quality feeds masquerading as news sites, even scraping social media rumours to produce AI-generated content.

“There can be more deliberate networks of extreme actors, including far right groups and foreign intelligence actors.

“The platforms will struggle to get everything right in real time. But it matters as to whether they have the will and capacity to respond to the most serious threats, such as those breaching legal constraints and injunctions and those using heightened moments with the intent of socialising people towards extremism and violence.

“There are strong signs of a significant deterioration in both the intent and capacity of X under Elon Musk’s ownership.

“It will be important to have parliamentary scrutiny, for example in select Committee hearings, of the consequences of that laxity in cases like the Southport murders, particularly where the online misinformation can generate real world consequences by encouraging and inciting disorder, hatred and violence.”

A Merseyside Police statement said: “A name has been shared on social media in connection with the suspect in the incident in Southport.

“This name is incorrect and we would urge people not to speculate on details of the incident while the investigation is ongoing.”

The force added: “This incident is not currently being treated as terror-related and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with it.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned against “speculating or commenting” on the criminal investigation into the stabbing.

When asked whether she could provide more information, including whether the suspect was known to authorities, she said: “Merseyside Police are leading this extremely important and serious criminal investigation.

“This was a horrific attack and they need to be able to get on with that work, and they will provide us with updates.

“You’ll understand that others should not be speculating or commenting in advance of those updates and we really welcome the work of Merseyside Police, but it’s also important that they pursue every single angle of inquiry.”

Earlier this month, Debbie Duncan, the mother of Jay Slater, who died after disappearing on the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife, criticised “awful comments and conspiracy theories” posted on social media, which she branded “vile” and said were “hindering” the people who were trying to help locate the teenager.

Last year, Nicola Bulley’s family hit out at “wildly inaccurate speculation” about her death.

Ms Bulley, 45, vanished after dropping off her daughters, six and nine, at school, and taking her usual dog walk along the River Wyre in St Michael’s, Lancashire, on January 27.

A solicitor for the family said: “We encourage people to look at the facts, the evidence which has been heard during the inquest, and the conclusion reached by the Coroner, to ignore any amateur views and opinions, and be mindful of the impact words bring.”