Official silence on Southport fostered distrust and rumour

Members of the public take part in a vigil in Southport
Members of the public take part in a vigil in Southport

When three little girls at a nursery were murdered by a knife-wielding killer in Southport last July, the horror and outrage was overwhelming. Some people immediately asked whether the atrocity was terrorist related and speculated about the identity of the perpetrator.

The police denied the former and would not comment on the latter, later named as Axel Rudakubana.

The official silence helped build a head of steam both in the town and elsewhere that exploded into rioting, leading to more than 1,200 arrests. Dozens of people involved were jailed, including some who had posted inflammatory comments on social media platforms. Bizarrely some were themselves threatened with terrorist charges.

More than any other recent event the murders and the official response led to accusations that a “two tier” system of justice was operating in the country designed to stifle debate in the interests of good race relations.

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Matters were complicated by contempt rules that prevent the media from reporting further on cases once an alleged offender has been charged. This led to claims of a cover-up because news outlets overseas were free to comment on the Southport incident and the motives of the alleged assailant.

Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, said he had been prevented from raising the issue in Parliament but there are long established conventions that forbid MPs from using their privilege to comment on a prosecution.

We still live in a country where you are innocent until proven guilty and the big danger of discussing a case before a trial has concluded is that it might collapse and an offender will get away with it.

However, the way this has been handled is cause for concern. The pretence that this was not a terrorist incident was maintained for weeks even though police knew of a possible link almost immediately.

It was weeks before prosecutors brought new charges against Rudakubana for possessing a military study of an Al-Qaeda training manual and making ricin, a biological toxin.

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Appearing yesterday for a trial expected to last six weeks at Liverpool Crown Court, the 18 year old suddenly changed his plea to guilty which means the full story can now be told.

The failure of the authorities at the time to be more forthcoming contributed to a sense among people that they were not being told the full truth, something that played into the hands of political groups trying to foment trouble. Similar obfuscation surrounded who knew what about Salman Abedi, who killed 22 people in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.

Greater transparency is needed when terrible incidents such as these happen or the vacuum will be filled by rumour, lies and propaganda of the sort that triggered the summer riots.