Laws to stop fake news are not fit for purpose, says London mayor

Laws designed to counter misinformation are "not fit for purpose" and must be revisited after the spread of online falsehoods contributed to this month's far-right riots, the London mayor has said.

- Jessica Elgot , Eleni Courea

Sadiq Khan, one of the UK's most senior Muslim politicians, said ministers should act "very, very quickly" to review the Online Safety Act after violence in England and Belfast over the past week. There have been calls to hasten the act's implementation.

His comments came after the X owner, Elon Musk, escalated his attacks on the Labour government, sharing a fake Telegraph article claiming Keir Starmer was considering sending far-right rioters to "emergency detainment camps" in the Falklands. The article was first posted by Ashlea Simon, a co-leader of the far-right group Britain First.

The post, which Musk deleted after 30 minutes, prompted a spokesperson for the European Commission to say its investigation into X could take its handling of harmful content related to the recent riots in England into account.

Thousands of anti-racism protesters gathered across England on Wednesday, forming human shields to protect asylum centres, with the 100 far-right-led rallies anticipated by police largely failing to materialise.

It followed a week of disorder across the country, whipped up by far-right activists online, who falsely claimed that a Muslim immigrant was behind the mass stabbing in Southport that targeted children at a Taylor Swift-inspired dance class.

Merseyside police yesterday confirmed that the last child in hospital had been discharged. The girl's family issued a statement condemning the violence, saying it had been "an incredibly difficult time for our nation".