Southport: "Global far-right network" blamed for stoking riots in wake of stabbings
Six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice da Silva Aguiar were killed at a Taylor Swift themed dance class in July
A research group is claiming a "global far-right network" helped stoke riots in the UK in the wake of the Southport stabbings.
Mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers were attacked as violence erupted across the country, following the stabbings of three young girls at a Taylor Swift dance class in July.
Six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice da Silva Aguiar were all killed.
Experts at a group called Prose have looked at accounts which used social media channels to organise riots, spread misinformation about the suspect, and discuss the stabbings.
They found just six of the 20 most influential accounts were from the UK, with the rest based abroad.
Boss Al Baker said: "People who make their living from running kinds of misinformation aggregators are very smart, efficient and organised in the way they collect and distribute information.
He said he was "extremely worried" about the future, saying he hasn't seen "anything like" the sort of far-right organisation that emerged in the wake of Southport.
17-year-old suspect Axel Muganwa Rudakubana was charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.
He is due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court later this month.