Man arrested in Pakistan over Southport misinformation

A man has been arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of cyber terrorism, linked to misinformation in relation to the Southport attack.

Police in Pakistan told the BBC that Farhan Asif was linked to a website which had given  an incorrect name for the Southport attacker and also incorrectly suggested that he had arrived in the UK on a small boat.

The article was published on Channel3Now and was then quoted on social media.

According to the BBC, police recovered two laptops and a mobile phone in a raid on Asif's property. Police found the Channel3Now account on X active on his devices.

Asif is reported to have said that he wrote the article with information from a UK-based social media account without verifying it.

BBC Verify had previously investigated the Channel3Now site and tracked down several people linked to it.