The vast majority of the British corporate media is refusing to report on the ethnic background of a Rwandan teenager arrested over the horrific dance workshop knife rampage which left two children dead and injured nine in the town of Southport in North West England on Monday.
Only two major newspapers, The Telegraph and The Times, have so far informed the British public that the Cardiff-born 17-year-old suspect has parents from Rwanda, and no mainstream media outlets described his appearance. He cannot be named for legal reasons.
Merseyside Police said the teenager is still in custody and is being questioned over the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed event on Hart Street in Southport, but said it was not being treated as terror-related.
Two children were killed, six are in a critical condition, and three more were injured in the mass stabbing, which witnesses described as “something out of a horror film”. Two adults are also in a critical condition.
As of the time of writing, the following major outlets had yet to mention that the attacker was African in dozens of online articles about the attack: The BBC, The Sun, The Daily Mail, GB News, The Guardian, and The Independent.
British social media users have vented their anger over the media blackout on X, with many demanding to know why the information was being kept from the public.
“Why is the media studiously avoiding telling us that the alleged murderer of those kids in Southport is the son of Rwandan migrants. How did they get to Cardiff precisely? Was he known to police?” asked David Vance.
“Where’s the media coverage of the murderer being Rwandan? It doesn’t suit their agenda and they will portray him as a Welshman when he’s clearly not,” wrote another X user.
According to Barrister Steven @SBarrettBar who was told by a police officer’s DM, the media narrative on Southport is being “managed”. I had 14 million views of my @X posts yesterday, you don’t manage me or my followers @YvetteCooperMP & @MerseyPolice.
The @Telegraph said his… pic.twitter.com/TmbpcsJ3bR
— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) July 30, 2024
Journalist David Atherton from The European Conservative said he had been told the media narrative was being “managed” and criticised the police for only stating that the suspect was from Cardiff.
“The Telegraph said his parents were from Rwanda, which you failed to mention. All images suggest he is black. You stated he was born in Cardiff, is that the quaint fishing village 70 miles west of Rwanda’s capital Kigali, on Lake Kivu?” he wrote.
“May I ask, does the murderer, without naming him, have a name that is of Arabic origin? In Rwanda 5% are Muslim.
“I have read he was a devoted Palestine supporter, can you confirm or deny?”
Mr Atherton referenced a tweet by Spectator writer and barrister Steven Barrett which read: “I have been privately contacted by a Police Officer – which is rare for me.
“And told that what we are being told about the Southport stabbings is being managed.
“And that their priority is that our response is managed.
“Innocent children are dead, I do not need to be ‘managed’.”
I have been privately contacted by a Police Officer – which is rare for me
And told that what we are being told about the Southport stabbings is being managed
And that their priority is that our response is managed
Innocent Children are dead, I do not need to be ‘managed’ 😐
— Steven Barrett (@SBarrettBar) July 29, 2024