Woman accused of sharing fake name of Southport suspect will face 'no further action'

Bernadette Spofforth was arrested after being accused of spreading misinformation on social media A woman who was arrested after sharing a fake name for the Southport suspect online will face no further action. Bernadette Spofforth , 55, was arrested after she allegedly published misinformation on social media claiming the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived by boat, commenting that if it were true there would be “hell to pay”. She later deleted the post and apologised after realising the information was wrong.

In a statement released on Wednesday (September 18), Ms Spofforth said she "will face no further action". Ms Spofforth said: “I can confirm that on September 5 the police informed me I will face no further action. I’ve been unable to comment on this until now because, under the terms of my bail conditions, I faced being rearrested and locked up in a cell again if I used social media.



“My crime was sharing a tweet which I deleted and apologised for sharing as soon I realised it contained inaccurate information. As has now been shown, the idea that one single tweet could be the catalyst for the riots which followed the atrocities in Southport is simply not true.” Speaking of her arrest, Ms Spofforth said she and her family had been through a “nightmare”.

Her statement went on to say: “Yet, despite repeatedly insisting I’d done nothing illegal, the police dragged me from my home and held me for 36 hours in a cell. “What I’ve experienced over the past few weeks is nothing in comparison to the suffering of the tragic victims in Southport . And I’m not trying to compare the two.

But I am just an ordinary person with ordinary opinions and I think it’s important that the public should know how ordinary people can be treated. “The nightmare my family and I have lived through over the past month could happen to anyone. And in Britain in 2024 that’s unacceptable.

” The fake name for the suspect and the misinformation he is an asylum seeker who had arrived by boat in the country in the past year, was spread online by a number of far-right commentators. This appeared to stoke anti-immigration hostility, with unrest breaking out in locations across the country, despite the fact that the rumour was not true. The information appeared to originate from a news website called Channel3 Now, and the site’s editor-in-chief later apologised.

Pakistani web developer Farhan Asif, 32, has since been charged with cyberterrorism. Widespread misinformation published online about the suspect fuelled violent disorder in Southport the day after the attack that killed three schoolgirls in the town, as well as hospitalising eight children and two adults. Following the disorder in the town that saw a police van set alight and police officers injured, further disorder broke out across the country, including riots on County Road days later resulting in more officers being targeted, Spellow Library set ablaze and shops looted.

Cheshire Police did not name Ms Spofforth, but confirmed that a 55-year-old woman from near Chester would face no further action. A spokesman said: “A woman who was arrested in relation to an inaccurate social media post has been released without charge. “The 55-year-old woman from near Chester was arrested on Thursday August 8 following allegations in relation to a social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the attacker in the Southport murders.

Following a thorough investigation, a decision has been made that no further action will be taken due to insufficient evidence.”.