Sir Keir Starmer says it is “a matter for the police” after Merseyside officers took just two hours to confirm that the man held over Monday’s rampage in Liverpool city Centre is white and British. The rapid announcement stunned many observers because forces normally hold back personal details, but senior cops insist they had a very good reason.
Experts point to the chaos that followed last year’s case of Axel Rudakubana, who killed three young girls in Southport. Back then, police stayed silent for almost a day while social media went into meltdown. False claims that Rudakubana was a terrorist spread like wildfire, riots flared in several cities and officers were later criticised by MPs for letting conspiracy theorists fill the vacuum, reported The Sun.
