I seem to recall, from the cobwebbed backroom of my mind a song from the band ‘The Rubettes’ called ‘Rumours’. The chorus went like so:

Rumours can kill you, cause you to wail
Break up your marriage, put you in jail
Lifes is your cross
But they drive in the nail with rumours

Rumours can maim you, cause you to weep
Make you take tablets, or walk in your sleep
Even take poison and fallin’ a heap of rumours

There is a currently quickly accelerating rumour mill in operation connected to the aftermath and the alleged perpetrator of the Southport Atrocity. This atrocity in Southport occurred in late July 2024 when a man with a knife attacked a Taylor Swift themed dance class in the town and killed three little girls and injured at least ten more people both children and adults.

Immediately after the attack, before the bodies of the slain kids were even cold, Merseyside Police issued a statement saying that the attack was not terrorism. A man, later named as Axel Rudakubana who was 17 was arrested and charged with three murders, ten attempted murders and possession of a bladed article. The defendant was later ordered to be named by a judge of the Crown Court because the speculation about his name could be contributing to potential civil disorder. Prior to this hearing the accused had, due to being under 18 at the time he allegedly committed the offences, not legally been able to be publicly named. Fast forward to later in the year, late October, a good couple of months after the attack it was announced by the authorities that the alleged assailant accused of the Southport Atrocity would face further, terrorism related, charges.

The revelation by the authorities that Rudakubana was to face terrorism charges regarding the alleged possession of a manual detailing the methods of operation of the terror group Al Qaida and was also accused of creating the poison Ricin, shocked the British public. What particularly shocked many was that what this person was being charged with suggested that there might be an Islamic motive involved in the Southport Atrocity? It was particularly shocking because Britons had, in the aftermath of the Southport Atrocity, found themselves in deep trouble with the state for speculating as to the possible Islamic connections to this incident. Some Britons went to gaol over comments they’d made online about this case and in particular when they’ve suggested an Islamic extremism angle to this story.

Ever since the Southport Atrocity occurred there’s been speculation about it. The speculation has recently gone up a few notches after Reform leader Nigel Farage MP said that he knew stuff about this case that the public did not know but refused to say what it was. Other journalists out there also said that they knew what Mr Farage knew but also couldn’t say. In a way I can understand why they’ve taken this position. Britain is not a free country with regards speech or publication. If the myriad ‘hate speech’ laws don’t get you then the libel laws and contempt of court acts will. Those who claim to know something will have to be absolutely sure of their facts before going public and will need to ensure that they have a solid and unchallengeable paper trail of evidence to back up their claims. Those who have information that might be pertinent to this case might even have to wait until the end of the trial, which at present looks to be sometime in the Spring of 2025, before they are truly free to speak.

Some of the rumours going around have turned out to be more bullshit-like than based in reality. Claims such as that Sir Keir Starmer once represented the father of the accused at an immigration hearing and that that this would destroy Starmer, have turned out to not have much ‘bottom’ to them. Also, barristers, as Sir Keir was back then, have to take cases as they come along, something known as ‘the cab rank principle’.

Other rumours, such as Andre Walker’s speculation that Merseyside Police did not class this as terrorism from the outset in order not to harm ‘community relations’ and to cover up for failures by the Security Service and local counter terror police do have a bit more substance. I believe that mainly because British police forces DO have a reputation for talking down problems associated with the ideology of Islam whether that be extremism and the extent of it or the sexual predation of the Islamic Grooming Gangs. It is also possible that with so many Islamic extremists that need to be monitored, 39,000 is the figure I’ve seen bandied about, that some extremist at some time is going to slip through because of failures by the security agencies.

There are a great many other rumours out there about this case, including allegations that Britain’s Cold War activities in Rwanda have possibly impacted on individuals related to this case. At present we don’t know whether this is real or someone adding two plus two and getting five as the result. But what is pretty clear is that whilst the Southport Atrocity was bound to start a rumour machine up, the government and the security agencies by being overly secretive with stuff that might not not affect the fairness of the trial of the accused, have shoved that rumour machine into overdrive. I’m not so naive as to believe or want all police operational data regarding this case put into the public eye, that sort of action could in some cases alert Britain’s enemies and the religious extremists and their allies to other ongoing anti-terror operations. But, just a little more transparency in information given out might have prevented the extreme speculation about this case that is going on now.

We will of course, due to Britain’s contempt of court laws and the doctrine of sub judice, have to wait until the conclusion of this case to find out exactly what has gone on. However if those revelations are as bad as some in the media believe they could be then the fallout from this case might be more than the government or others who wish to suppress certain aspects of it, may be able to properly contain or manage to their satisfaction. I’m going to wait and see what happens but there certainly seems to be something murky about the background to this case but I can’t put my finger on it and say with certainty what it is.