It comes after millionaire mum Bonnie Spofforth said she was 'mortified' to be accused of being the first to spread the false rumours.

The woman accused of being first to spread the fake rumours about the Southport killer which sparked nationwide riots has been arrested.

Racist riots spread across the country after misinformation spread on social media claiming the fatal stabbing was carried out by Ali Al-Shakati, believed to be a fictitious name, a Muslim aslyum seeker who was on an MI6 watchlist.

A 55-year-old woman from Chester has now been arrested on suspicion of publishing written material to stir up racial hatred, and false communication. She remains in police custody.

While she has not been named in the police statement about the arrest, it is believed to be Bonnie Spofforth, a mother-of-three and the managing director of a clothing company.

  • Mr_Blott@feddit.ukEnglish
    141·
    4 months ago

    They don’t “lack free speech”, they’re more “free of hate speech” and a more modern society because of it

    • aidan@lemmy.worldEnglish
      311·
      4 months ago

      They’ve already arrested people for making jokes, arrested a kid for insulting an Olympian, and arrested someone for tweeting “the only good soldier is a dead soldier”. The UK government continues to be tyrannical and unethical.

      • Mr_Blott@feddit.ukEnglish
        72·
        4 months ago

        Yes, mistakes are made, and also many more justified and deserved convictions are made.

        And the fact that those three examples are the type reported on ad nauseum by gutter tabloid newspapers gives a hint as to your preferred choice of sources

        • aidan@lemmy.worldEnglish
          28·
          4 months ago

          Yes, mistakes are made,

          And what happens when mistakes are made? They are defended by the tyrannical government.

          It’s like, “Yeah we falsely execute 10% of people, we don’t apologize to their families or anything, but it’s okay- many more people get what they deserve”

          What? If I read news(not often) it’s usually, AP, Reuters, Reason, or something from Yahoo news.

          Maybe it’s just that those are the most widely published cases of abuse so it’s easy when you’re looking for examples? But yeah personal attacks are good too.