Southport stabbing: how online rumours led to UK's worst riots in 13 years

The United Kingdom is reeling under the worst riots in 13 years, with far-right mobs torching buildings, attacking mosques and a hotel housing asylum seekers. As police struggle to control the wave of anti-immigrant violence, authorities are trying to debunk rumours that lit the fire.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested last week, after a stabbing spree at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in Southport killed three children and injured several others. Rumours soon spread on social media that the suspect was a Muslim immigrant.

Angry mobs of far-right protesters took to the streets, raising communal slogans and vandalising public property in different parts of the country.

In an attempt to stop misinformation from fuelling further disorder, a judge allowed authorities to reveal the identity of the arrested minor.

He ruled that the suspect, Axel Rudakubana, could be named as he would turn 18 in a few days. Rudakubana was born in the UK to Rwandan parents, making him a British citizen.

But, that has not quelled anti-immigration protests raging across the UK.