AN INFORMATION vacuum in the wake of the Southport murders led to lies and rumours on social media fuelling riots, MPs have said.
The near-silence from cops allowed false stories to spread that killer Axel Rudakubana was an asylum-seeker.
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Migrant hotels became targets in the unrest, with investigators struggling to set the record straight.
The Home Affairs Select Committee is now calling for a review of what police can put into the public domain.
Chairwoman Dame Karen Bradley said: “The criminal justice system needs its approach to communication to be fit for the social media age.”
Rudakubana targeted children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class – stabbing three to death and injuring 10 others.
The teen dramatically pleaded guilty to all 16 charges against him in a surprise development even the judge was not aware of.
He also pleaded guilty to one charge of the “production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, contrary to Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974”.
This related to an Al-Qaeda manual and ricin that were found at his home following the attack.
It was the first time Rudakubana had spoken out loud in court after refusing to open his mouth throughout proceedings.
Speaking through a surgical mask, he replied “guilty” as all 16 counts were put to him one-by-one.
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