Angela Rayner under pressure to apologise for suggesting Southport attacks were not terror-related
Angela Rayner is under pressure to apologise for suggesting the Southport attacks were not terror-related.
The Deputy Prime Minister had claimed Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, was spreading “fake news” after he questioned whether the tragedy was linked to terrorism.
Mr Farage is now demanding Ms Rayner says sorry after it emerged Axel Rudakubana, the 18-year-old killer, was referred to the Government’s Prevent anti-extremism scheme three times
Rudakubana this week pleaded guilty to the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last July.
Police also found an al-Qaeda training manual and ricin in his home.
Sir Keir Starmer confirmed after the guilty plea that police and politicians knew about the attacker’s terrorist material shortly after the attack, but the public was not told.
The decision not to be more transparent has been blamed for fuelling nationwide riots which followed the killings and saw more than 1,200 arrests.
On July 30, the day after the attack, Mr Farage said in a statement that there were questions remaining surrounding the tragedy and possible links to terrorism.
He also suggested that the “truth was being withheld from us” regarding the attacks, which prompted significant backlash from politicians accusing him of stoking hatred.
Mr Farage said: “I have to say there are one or two questions. Was this guy being monitored by the security services? Some reports say he was, others less sure…
“I just wonder whether the truth is being withheld from us. I don’t know the answer to that. I think it is a fair and legitimate question. What I do know is something is going horribly wrong in our once beautiful country.”
Asked directly about Mr Farage’s words at the time, Ms Rayner said: “He must understand that you have a level of responsibility, you’re a community leader, you’re elected to represent your constituency.
“And therefore you have a level of responsibility with that, and it’s not to stoke up what conspiracy theories or what you think might have happened, or lean into what you think.”
Ms Rayner insisted police were doing a “difficult job”, adding: “We want to establish facts as soon as possible.
“And we have a responsibility to hold the community together and say, let’s get the facts and then let’s look at what the actual solutions are and what we can do about the horrific situation that we find ourselves in, not to stir up these fake news online.”
Credit: YouTube/LBC
On Wednesday night, Mr Farage told The Telegraph: “Many public figures, including Angela Rayner, made derogatory and inciteful remarks about my comments in the vacuum that followed the terrorist attack in Southport.
“I was right all along. This man was known to the authorities and the truth was withheld. As the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation Jonathan Hall KC confirmed, the public should have been told the truth without damaging the trial.
“This is an appalling cover-up and I deserve apologies.”
Credit: Facebook/Nigel Farage
Reform has identified Ms Rayner as one of seven MPs who blamed Mr Farage for the riots or inferred he was at least partly responsible.
Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, accused Mr Farage of having exploited the Southport attacks dishonestly.
The day after Mr Farage’s comments, she said: “Nigel Farage could yesterday have had the questions, he claims are unanswered, answered if he had bothered to turn up to parliament and ask them during the statement on the incidents in Southport.
“He didn’t turn up, he grifted instead.”
Kim Johnson, the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, demanded that the Parliament’s standards commissioner look into Mr Farage’s comments.
She told The Guardian: “Nigel Farage’s dangerous comments cannot be left to fester. He is the voice of the EDL [English Defence League] in Parliament, using his platform to spread fear and misinformation.”
Ms Johnson added: “With so much at stake, we need urgent action from the Commons standards committee and the police to hold him to account.”
Dawn Butler, a Labour MP, claimed Mr Farage had whipped up unrest across the country, writing: “You have the nerve to blame BLM [Black Lives Matter] for something you have stoked! Understand the consequences of your actions.”
In a now-deleted post on X, which was widely reported at the time, Labour MP David Baines said of Mr Farage: “Arsonist appalled at flames.”
Tom Tugendhat, a former security minister, claimed during the Tory leadership contest that the Reform leader was “irresponsible and dangerous” to imply the police withheld the truth.
And in an interview with Times Radio, Labour’s Andy McDonald accused Mr Farage and Lee Anderson, a fellow Reform MP, of “stirring up racial hatred”.
Others to suggest Mr Farage was responsible for stoking tensions included Anna Soubry, a former MP, and the campaign group Stand Up to Racism.
Tobias Ellwood, a former minister, accused the Reform leader of “stirring up racial hatred”, while Carol Vorderman, the television presenter, called him an “apologist” for violence on the streets.