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The protesters, who police said were supporters of the far-right English Defence League, were apparently fuelled by false online rumours about the suspect.

Police said a name circulating on social media – spread by far-right activists and accounts of murky origin purporting to be news organisations – was incorrect and that he was born in Britain, contrary to online claims he was an asylum-seeker. The names of suspects under the age of 18 are usually not made public in Britain.

Patrick Hurley, the local MP, said the violence by “beered-up thugs” was the result of “propaganda and lies” spread on social media.