Report of summer riots says British law is not suitable for the social media era

The government committee said in a report released in the UK on Monday that the claims of police citing criminal cases are “not suitable for the social media era”, a law highlighting the unrestricted misunderstanding of the riots last summer.

In the far right-most severe illness, a few days affected and the city after a teenager killed three girls in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, England on July 29. In the hours after the stabbing, false claims that the attacker was an undocumented Muslim immigrant, spreading rapidly online.

In a report on the riot, the parliamentary committee said the lack of information from the authorities after the attacks “created a vacuum that allowed misinformation to grow.” The report accused decades of British law aimed at preventing jury bias, which prevented police from correcting false claims.

These false claims have reached millions when police declared the suspect was born in Britain.

The Interior Commission brought together lawmakers from various political spheres to issue a report after questioning the chief of police, government officials and first responders at a four-month hearing.

Axel Rudakubana was sentenced to life imprisonment for the attack, and was born and raised in the UK by a Christian family in Rwanda. The judge later found no evidence that he was driven by a political or religious ideology but obsessed with violence.

Karen Bradley, a Conservative MP who leads the Interior Committee, said the “bad faith actors” exploited the attack. But she added that the lack of accurate information allows lies to spread.

“By not revealing information to the public, false claims fill the gap and thriving online, further undermining confidence in the police and public authorities,” she said.

The committee's report points to two false claims shared on X. One, published about two hours after the attack, claimed the suspect was a “Muslim immigrant.” It has received over 3.8 million views.

The second was published about five hours later, and the suspect was wrongly suggested that the suspect was an asylum seeker named “Ali-Al-Shakati”, who was on the “MI6 Watch List”. The post received approximately 27 million views of X in one day. Merseyside Police were local forces investigating the attack and did not announce the name was wrong until noon on July 30.

A few hours later, the first riot broke out in Southport. The disease continues in multiple towns and cities, with many protests targeting housing asylum seekers in mosques and hotels. People caught fire while inside. The report said more than 300 police officers were injured during the riots, and the police estimated to have caused £28 million, or about $36 million.

It added that Merseyside police were “in a very difficult position” because they were legally prohibited from disclosing the suspect’s identity and received “inconsistent advice” from prosecutors about whether they could confirm that he was not a Muslim.

The committee's report acknowledged that it is impossible to determine whether “if more information is published, the disease can be prevented”.

But it concluded that the stabbing “creates a vacuum that misleading can grow and further undermine public confidence” after lack of information and that the contempt of the law is not “fitting the age of social media.”

In the UK, a law prohibits the naming of suspects under the age of 18 unless the judge is an exception. Mr. Rudabana was 17 years old when the attack occurred. Another law aimed at protecting the right to a fair trial prohibits the release of information that could affect the jury. Once the defendant is found guilty or innocent, the rule is part of the Contempt Court Act of 1981.

Merseyside Chief Police Officer Serena Kennedy told the committee that police revealed on the evening of July 29 that the attackers were born in Wales but misinformation has surged.

Ms. Kennedy said she had planned to make the announcement two days later, clarifying that Mr. Rudakubana was not a Muslim and his parents were Christians. She said the body that filed criminal charges in England after notifying the Crown Prosecution Service, an official told her that the information should not be disclosed.

“This case highlights why we need to look into how information is distributed, while also ensuring we do not affect criminal justice trials,” Ms. Kennedy said.

The Crown Prosecution said in a statement that although an official expressed a “different view” on Mr Rudabana's religious disclosure, they did not tell the police would be biased towards the jury.

“We support the recommendations of legal reform, which will make the application of despised law clearer and simpler, especially when it comes to issues related to the public interest, such as public safety or national security,” the statement added.

The Contempt Court Act has been reviewed by the Law Commission in England and Wales since the Southport attack.