What really caused the countrywide unrest after the Southport massacre last summer? Last week, a report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), shed a much-needed light on this vital question.
This was the second part of HMICFRS’s inspection of the police response to the public disorder that followed Axel Rudakubana’s attack on a dance class in Southport on 29 July, which killed three little girls. The first part looked at police preparedness; tranche two focuses on police use of intelligence as the disorder unfolded, its subsequent crime investigations, and the role of social media.
The bulk of the media coverage has so far focused on the latter, with headlines about the police response to ‘social media risks’ and ‘countering fake news’. Such concerns reflect the official explanation for the disorder, preached with fire and brimstone by Sir Keir Starmer from his No. 10 pulpit during the unrest.
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