A man from Rutland, Mark Heath, has been acquitted of stirring up racial hatred following a series of social media posts in relation to the Southport stabbings in July. Mr Heath repeatedly posted false claims suggesting that the offender was an asylum seeker named Ali Al Shakati on X. However, he denied allegations that he had published “threatening, abusive or insulting” material as his “strong opinions” “did not encourage violence”. Despite police providing a 48-page document to the jury, which contained screenshots of the posts, Mr Heath was cleared of the charges.
The prosecution claimed that the posts comprised of false information, and had misled those who felt angry in relation to the tragedy. It further alleged that Mr Heath had described the incident as a “tipping point” during his posts. Amongst other claims, he stated that Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour party, and other politicians had stopped a plane carrying the asylum seeker to Rwanda. Mr Heath has since denied that he had any intention of stirring up racial hatred in his posts.
Giving evidence last week, Mr Heath admitted he held strong opinions, which included concerns regarding radical Islam; however, he denied being a racist or that he intended to stir up hatred. The falsely accused man stated that he came across Al Shakati’s name through a false news channel on X.
Following this development, Judge Timothy Spencer KC expressed his gratitude to the jury for their services in the case and subsequently dismissed the defendant
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