A woman who shared false information about the suspect in the Southport killings has been informed that she will face no further legal action. Bernadette Spofforth, 55, was arrested in August after reposting a tweet on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that wrongly identified the suspect as an asylum seeker.
Ms Spofforth, a mother of three, shared the incorrect name “Ali Al Shakati” shortly after the deaths of three girls in Southport. She later removed the post and apologised, stating that she realised the information was inaccurate. “My crime was sharing a tweet which I deleted and apologised for sharing as soon as I realised it contained inaccurate information,” Ms Spofforth explained.
Her post, alongside similar claims from far-right commentators, fuelled anti-immigration sentiment across the UK and contributed to public unrest. The misinformation was initially spread by the news site Channel3 Now, whose editor-in-chief later issued an apology for the error.
Ms Spofforth was detained for 36 hours by police but maintains that she did not commit any crime. “The nightmare my family and I have lived through over the past month could happen to anyone,” she said. Cheshire police confirmed that the 55-year-old woman would face no further legal action in relation to the case.