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.
This time, Merseyside Police decided not to repeat the mistake. Within two hours of arresting their suspect, they confirmed he is white, British, and has no links to extremist groups. According to insiders, the single line cut short most of the wilder speculation circulating online, including suggestions that the crash was an Islamic State-style attack.
Jonathan Hall, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, thinks the new approach is bang on. “The lesson has been learnt, don’t give any fuel to the conspiracy merchants,” he says. Hall argues that total consistency is vital. “If it had been a Muslim, an Asian, a black man or woman, they would have to say that. You’ve got to be fully consistent.”
Merseyside detectives believe the early statement helped calm the situation on the ground. Mobile phone clips of the car ploughing through a roadblock had already triggered frantic posts on X, formerly Twitter, with users insisting the driver must be a jihadi. By the time those rumours started trending the force had already put out its one-line description and officers in riot gear reported “nothing beyond routine crowd control”.
The decision has inevitably kicked off a political debate. Critics claim releasing ethnicity so quickly could stray into racial profiling. Supporters counter that withholding the information last year allowed fringe agitators to dictate the narrative and draw thousands of ordinary people into ugly street protests.
Sir Keir, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, dodged the row entirely. On a visit to Derby he told reporters, “It is a matter for the police.” No10 took exactly the same line on Wednesday, saying it is entirely up to individual forces to decide what they publish and when. A Downing Street spokesperson repeated that the Prime Minister’s view is “the release of suspect details was a matter for the police”.
Behind the scenes, senior officers from several forces are said to be watching Merseyside’s handling of the case closely. A chief constable from the Midlands, speaking anonymously, reckons the fast-release tactic will become standard if it prevents another round of nationwide disturbances. “We spend months building community relations and one evening of misinformation can flatten it,” he said.
Meanwhile, detectives are still questioning the 53-year-old suspect, who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs. He remains in custody while forensic teams examine the Ford Galaxy and trawl CCTV from Water Street. Official updates are being rationed but insiders say the force will not hesitate to push out fresh factual details the moment they are confirmed, determined to keep the upper hand over the internet rumour machine.
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