Southport rioters were not driven by ‘far-right hate’, claims Children’s Commissioner | LBC

Thrill-seeking and a distrust of police were the main reasons children got involved in last summer's riots, more than online misinformation, research by the Children's Commissioner suggests.

James O'Brien isn't so sure.

Dame Rachel de Souza's office spoke to around a fifth of the children charged over the far-right riots which broke out in the aftermath of the murders of three girls in Southport.

Axel Rudakubana was handed a 52-year sentence last week for the triple killing as well as the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults at the dance class last July.

In the days following the stabbings, a number of false claims circulated on social media claiming the killer was a Muslim immigrant, with much of that misinformation believed to have fuelled rioting in various parts of England.

Prominent right-wing figures such as Elon Musk, Andrew Tate and Reform leader Nigel Farage have all been accused of inciting the riots by spreading this kind of misinformation via their social media accounts.

"Others described a deep distrust of the police and the opportunity to retaliate against a previous interaction.

"What these conversations do not support is the prevailing narrative that emerged from the riots which was subsequently accepted: that online misinformation, racism or other right-wing influences were to blame for why young people were enticed to join in the aggression.

"While there is no doubt these issues all played a role, they did not drive the children's actions - they did not come up as the only significant factors in any of the conversations with the children who were charged."

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