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.

  • ripcord@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    Do you have a source for her saying that? I haven’t heard any reports that she did.

    • davidagain@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      It’s a paraphrase. Read the tweet, not as if you’re her defence lawyer, but ask yourself if a reasonable person would interpret it as a racist argument that violence was justified.

      • ripcord@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        3 months ago

        It doesn’t sound even remotely like what her tweet said. That’s not a paraphrase.

        If you’re/they’re going to use quotes of things to compare whether each should be free speech, your quote should at least resemble the actual speech used.