Pakistani web developer accused of spreading lies about the Southport knifeman that sparked riots on Britain's streets is charged with cyber terrorism By Emily Jane Davies and Miriam Kuepper Published: 06:51 EDT, 21 August 2024 | Updated: 06:53 EDT, 21 August 2024 e-mail A Pakistani web developer accused of spreading disinformation about the Southport knifeman which triggered the UK riots has been charged with cyber terrorism. Farhan Asif reportedly worked for news aggregation website Channel3Now, which published false articles about the identity of the Southport stabber. He falsely claimed that the knifeman - whose identity could not be published at the time due to his age - was a migrant who arrived in the UK via boat and was on an MI6 watchlist.
Police in Pakistan have charged Asif with cyber terrorism, in relation to the disinformation thought to have fuelled the widespread rioting. Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, were tragically killed in the July 29 attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, which sparked the riots after online misinformation wrongly said it had been committed by a Muslim migrant. Channel3Now reported that the suspect was a '17-year-old asylum-seeker' called Ali al-Shakati, who allegedly arrived in the UK by boat in 2023 and it claimed he was on an MI6 watch list.
But the actual suspect was Axel Rudakubana, now 18, from Banks, Lancashire, who will stand trial next year after being charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Farhan Asif (pictured above) allegedly worked for news aggregation website Channel3Now, which published false articles about the identity of the Southport stabber Bebe King, six, was killed in the horror attack in Southport last month Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven (pictured) was another victim of the knife attack on the Taylor Swift-themed dance class Alice Aguiar, nine, died in the early hours of the morning of July 30 after being rushed to hospital following the attack A burnt out police van near a mosque in Southport as shocking riots broke out King Charles is pictured in the background of a floral display for the Southport victims, which also includes a number of balloons and cuddly toys The huge display has been left in the wake of the tragic killings of three girls who were stabbed during a Taylor Swift-themed summer party in the town last month More than 50 police officers were injured as up to 1,000 people gathered outside a Southport mosque after the fake news over the identity of the suspect in the killings was shared online. Asif was uncovered as a significant figure in the Channel3News website in an ITV News investigation, which found that he ran the website - which has since been shut down - from his luxurious housing estate in Lahore.
'I don't know how such a small article or a minor Twitter account could cause widespread confusion,' he told ITV News after being confronted about the fake news the website spread. Read More BREAKING NEWS King Charles tells of his profound 'shock' at killing of three young girls in Southport stabbings 'Channel3Now mentioned that [the suspect was] a Muslim and an immigrant, but this has no connection to the chaos, which is being caused by people in his own country. 'If there was misinformation, it could have been addressed calmly.
Why was there such an uproar?' A senior official in the local Pakistani police force told The Telegraph Asif had been detained over allegedly spreading fake news that resulted in violent riots. He has since been handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency. Asif denied writing the article about the Southport knifeman and told ITV News that he understands that the article was deleted a day after it was posted and that an apology was issued.
He claims that four people from the information search team were fired over the fake news article. A police van set alight on July 31 as trouble flares during a protest in Southport, after three children died and eight were injured in a 'ferocious' knife attack during a Taylor Swift event Pakistani newspaper Dawn said their own investigation into the fake news showed that Asif was not the source of the information and had simply copy and pasted it from a social media post. Ten others seriously injured during the attack on the dance class at the Hart Space Community Centre in Southport a the end of July.
A 17-year-old male, who the police said was born in Britain, was charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and one of possession of a bladed article. The UK's worst unrest in more than a decade led to some 1,100 arrests. The government pledged that rioters who hurled bricks at police, looted shops and attacked mosques and hotels used to house asylum-seekers would feel 'the full force of the law.
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