Emergency services report almost 40 police officers were injured as riots hit Southport after three girls were killed in a devastating knife attack.

Violence on Tuesday flared as crowds gathered in the north-west seaside town for a vigil honouring Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, who were all fatally stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on Monday.

Tensions were already running high in the wake of the tragedy, which escalated into violence.

A police van was torched and a mosque attacked by a far-right mob after false rumours circulated on social media about the identity of the 17-year-old male suspect arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder at the dance studio.

In this episode of the Standard podcast, with our home affairs editor Martin Bentham, we examine how social media disinformation is fanning the flames of extremism.

Plus, why the British legal process won’t give you a suspect’s name or crime scene evidence immediately. 

In part two, reporter Robert Dex with Paris Olympics 2024 analysis as Great Britain leap to fourth in the medal table with two more golds, in the men’s triathlon and women’s quadruple sculls.

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