A BILLIONAIRE mum accused of being the first to spread the false claim that sparked riots across Britain has denied being the instigator.
Bernadette Spofforth wrongly claimed the suspect in the Southport attack was an asylum seeker who arrived in Britain by boat last year.
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Bernadette Spofforth is accused of being the first person to spread a false claim about a Southport suspectCredit: Facebook
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Millionaire mom says her life is ‘ruined’Credit: Facebook
She posted the false claim on X, formerly Twitter, just hours after three girls were killed at Taylor Swift’s dance class in the Merseyside city last week.
Before the victims were even named, Spofforth tweeted: “The suspect was Ali Al-Shakati.
“He was an asylum seeker who came to the UK by boat last year and was on the MI6 watch list.”
Spofforth, 55, added: “If that’s true, then all hell will break loose.”
The claim was completely untrue – the suspect was not called Ali Al-Shakati and was not an asylum seeker or recent arrival in the UK.
Spofforth denies first instigating the claim or making up the name and details of the Southport suspect, The Sun has learned.
She claims she copied and pasted another Tweet from a Florida account that appeared 38 minutes earlier.
Spofforth claims she is only guilty of retweeting false information and that it is unfair to single her out.
Spofforth said in a statement: “In recent days I have been falsely accused of being the first person to circulate the name and description of the person alleged to have committed the crimes in Southport.
“Such a claim is absurd. In reality, I actually fell into the trap of sharing misinformation – as did thousands of others on social media after the attack.
Biggest police operation EVER begins as far-right extremists plan massacre in 100 areas
“The post I shared was pasted from the details of a message I saw on Twitter, and it was deviant as it needed additional verification.
“Since being falsely accused of being the first person to share this name, I have spent a lot of time researching the history and origins of the post I shared.
“By checking servers around the world, I can now show and prove that other sources were uploading articles long before my post.
“Thousands of other posts sharing the same name and phrase have also since been deleted, and it is not possible to track the timing of their posts.
“It is extremely important that people understand that they should not use them if they cannot verify the source of the information.
“It’s something I would normally always do, but on this occasion I accept that I failed in my duty to be as thorough as I could have been, and I deeply regret that.
“I would like to apologize for not being able to check the source material and posting in the heat of the moment.
“However, it is completely incorrect to claim that my post was somehow the catalyst for the riots.
“I absolutely support people’s right to share opinions and interpretations of current events and I highly value freedom of speech.
“But the deliberate spreading of blatantly false information is a threat to all of us and something we should all take responsibility for not letting go of. I will absolutely do so in the future.”
Mum-of-three Spofforth’s false claim quickly spread on social media, where it was allegedly prompted by Russian trolls.
It was also shared by far-right agitators such as Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate.
A fake news story about a Southport suspect sparked a week of far-right riots across the UK.
Cops have charged British-born teenager Axel Rudakubana with the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar.
Rudakubana, 18, is also charged with 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a sharp object.
The teenage suspect was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents who arrived legally in the UK in 2002.
The Spofforth fashion boss lives with her family in a £1.5million country house in Cheshire.
She told the Mail last night: “I am horrified to be accused of this.
“I didn’t make that up. I first got that information from someone in Southport.
“My post had nothing to do with the violence we’ve seen across the country.
“But I acknowledge that it may have been the source of the information used by the Russian news website.”
Spofforth produced no evidence to support her claim that she received the fake news from someone in Southport.
She claimed to have seen someone else post the fake name Ali Al-Shakati – but could provide no evidence for that claim either.
Spofforth is a prominent conspiracy theorist who campaigned against quarantine and vaccination.
The millionaire mom had tens of thousands of followers on Twitter before she deleted her account.
She previously told The Times: “It was a funny thing that came out of the blue and literally destroyed me.
“It was just a mistake. I did a really stupid stupid thing, I copied and pasted what I saw, and I added the line ‘if this is true.’
“I think it’s very easy for a situation that’s very emotional and very tense, so you end up believing what you see.
“People should be very careful about stating what they think is the truth without research.”
MASSACRE WEEK
Raids were launched at dawn this morning to arrest suspected violent criminals.
Police have released CCTV footage in an attempt to catch dozens of thugs involved in the riots.
Met chief Sir Mark Rowley said his forces had broken into the homes of the “most violent” participants in last week’s riots.
The biggest police mobilization in UK history took to the streets last night to fight a planned massacre of 100 places by far-right thugs.
But The Sun has revealed youths are planning 11 MORE riots in secret Facebook groups so police “can’t catch” after a week of chaos.
Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox, has warned that we must take drastic measures to bring the Wild West of social media to account.
Britain’s chief prosecutor said the rebels could face terrorism charges over the massacre.
More than 400 people have been arrested during a week of carnage on the streets of England and Northern Ireland.
The suspects have previous convictions for crimes including violent disorder and affray.
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British-born teenager Axel Rudakubana has been charged by officers over the attack in SouthportCredit: SWNS
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Bandits rioted across the UK last weekCredit: Getty
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Police face a constant battle to track down the rioters Credit: Getty
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Officers raided the rioters’ homes before a quick court appearance Credit: PA
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