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The Southport attack suspect was on Thursday named as Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, as UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer prepared to meet senior police chiefs following a second night of violence sparked by the mass stabbing.
Judge Andrew Menary lifted reporting restrictions in a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court, where Rudakubana was remanded in youth custody charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and one of possession of a knife.
The 17-year-old was apprehended on Monday near the scene of the mass stabbing in north-west England, the worst mass casualty event involving children in the UK for decades.
Three girls aged six, seven and nine were killed in the attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, and 10 other people, mostly children, were injured, triggering a string of violent protests.
Rudakubana’s name, which could not previously be published because of his age, has been the subject of frenzied social media speculation and misinformation.
Some posts have linked him to Islam or suggested he had arrived in the UK recently by boat as an asylum seeker. Police have said Rudakubana was raised in Cardiff by Rwandan parents.
Noting that Rudakubana would turn 18 on August 7, Menary said: “Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum.”
As some far-right activists switched attention on social media to his African parentage after reporting restrictions were lifted, Starmer was due to meet senior police chiefs in Downing Street to discuss the widespread disorder.
More than 100 demonstrators were arrested during clashes outside the official residence and office of the British prime minister on Wednesday night, the Metropolitan police said.
Some protesters threw fireworks and bottles at police, shouting similar anti-migrant and Islamophobic slogans to those used in Southport on Tuesday night. More than 50 officers were injured when protesters attacked a local mosque and set police and other vehicles alight.
Number 10 said Starmer would offer the government’s full backing to police leaders following incidents of “extreme violence and public disorder” on the streets.
He would also emphasise the government’s commitment to ensuring that anyone carrying out violent acts, and sowing hatred should face the “full force of the law”, it added.
Police forces across the UK are braced for further far-right protests heading into the weekend, with plans forming online for demonstrations in Manchester and Middlesbrough among other cities.
A plea and preparation hearing has been set for Rudakubana’s trial on Friday 25 October at Liverpool Crown Court.
Merseyside chief constable Serena Kennedy said that although the charges marked “a significant milestone . . . this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West”.
There were also major disturbances on Wednesday night in Hartlepool, a town in north-east England, where police carrying riot shields were confronted by large crowds of protesters hurling projectiles.
