UK probes whether ‘state actors’ stoked far-right riots

LONDON — The British government is investigating whether the far-right riots sweeping the country are being amped up with “the involvement of state actors.”
The U.K. has been hit with multiple outbreaks of anti-immigrant violence in recent days, with far-right protesters clashing with police, targeting mosques and attacking hotels housing asylum seekers.
It followed the deadly stabbing of three young girls at a dance class in the seaside town of Southport last week.
In the immediate aftermath of those killings, false reports circulated on social media claiming that the murderer was an asylum seeker called Ali Al-Shakati.
The outlet first pushing that false claim, calling itself ‘Channel3 Now,’ posted that the suspect was “on the MI6 [security service] watch list” and was “known to mental health services.” Its claim was amplified by prominent far-right influencers including Andrew Tate and Tommy Robinson.
The Daily Mail reported in recent days that Channel3 Now — whose post was viewed by more than 2 million people before being deleted and followed by an apology — started life 11 years ago as a Russian YouTube channel.
Speaking Monday, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson made clear that this angle is now being looked into by British authorities.
“Clearly we have seen bot activity online, much of which may well be amplified, or have the involvement of state actors, amplifying some of the disinformation and misinformation that we’ve seen,” the spokesperson said.
“And that is something that the NCA [National Crime Agency] and DSIT [Department for Science, Innovation and Technology] are looking at, in relation to what we’ve seen online.”
They added: “Some of the disinformation that we’ve seen online, attracts amplification from known bot activity — which as I say can be linked to state backed-activity.”
It’s not the first time Britain has probed state interference in its domestic affairs. Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik pushed false narratives about the 2018 poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal on British soil.
The move by the British government came as Starmer, elected just a month ago, fights to regain control of order on the country’s streets.
The Labour prime minister — set to chair the government’s Cobra crisis committee Monday — has attacked far-right “thugs” and warned those taking part in the violence that they “will face the full force of the law.”
On Monday, his top interior minister, Yvette Cooper, made clear that the British government’s primary focus is on domestic criminals.
While she acknowledged that “there can be amplification of social media activity online,” she said authorities are concentrating on “local groups and organizations, including some of those fueled by far right extremists” — as well as “local looters” opportunistically joining in with the violence.
John Woodcock, the government’s adviser on political violence, has, however, warned that “troll factories” in countries including Russia and Iran can play a part in stoking disorder.
“I made a key recommendation in my review to give the intelligence services more power, more capability, to crack down on the way that hostile states are seizing on every incident to create misinformation and to fan the flames of British extreme actors,” he said.