The stabbing of a nurse at Royal Oldham hospital has been met with outrage online – leading to the sharing of misinformation and conspiracy theories.
The nurse, a woman in her 50s, was seriously injured in the hospital’s acute medical unit at around 11.30pm on Saturday.
It is believed that she was attacked with a sharp instrument that was not a knife, and was left with life-changing wounds.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting described nurses as “the backbone of our NHS” after hearing of the woman’s injuries.
Within hours of a police press release being issued on Sunday in relation to the attack, a number of baseless claims about the attacker and how the incident was being handled by the authorities were spreading on platforms such as X.
On Monday afternoon, Rumon Haque, 37, was charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article, Greater Manchester Police said.
Haque, from Royton in Oldham, is also accused of possession of a bladed article and will appear in custody at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Suspect’s identity ‘being hidden’
One conspiracy theory being repeated on social media was that the suspect’s identity was being deliberately withheld from the public by the authorities.
One X user wrote: “Since they’re being so hush-hush about who this guy is, I’m calling it – he’s gotta be one of those fake-ass Islamic migrants.
“If he wasn’t his face would be all over the damn place by now.”
Another shared the story of the attack and wrote: “We need to find out who the person is before Keir Starmer gets it covered up.”
He later added: “If anyone knows the identification of the attack who stabbed the nurse we would like to know please.
“Especially their ethnicity. There is way too much covering up going on just lately and we cannot allow it happen.”
Police forces do not issue information about people they have arrested or who are suspected of a crime due to privacy concerns.
Guidance issued following the Leveson Inquiry in 2012 said identifying details should not be issued save in “exceptional and clearly identified circumstances”.
There is no law preventing media organisations from naming individuals but the practice has become extremely infrequent following a number of cases where people have successfully sued for invasion of privacy.
The situation changes once a person has been charged with a crime.
Police will then usually share their name, age, address and details of the charges ahead of a court appearance. The Prime Minister has no involvement in the sharing of this information.
‘Suspect is Muslim’
A number of social media accounts are widely sharing speculation that the attacker in Oldham is Muslim, despite no confirmation that this is true.
One prominent account on X wrote: “The fact the arrested man has not been identified or named means he is NOT a white local man.”
It was shared around 800 times and received 4,700 likes.
Police have not shared any details about the ethnicity of either the victim or the alleged attacker, as is usual practice.
What have police said?
Detective Superintendent Matt Walker said: “Our thoughts are with the nurse as she continues to receive treatment in hospital for her injuries, and our priority remains supporting her, her family, and her colleagues at this difficult time.
“We continue to work closely with our NHS colleagues to support anyone who has been affected by this incident.”
Tensions high in Oldham
The incident comes amid increasing tensions in Oldham due to the ongoing row over the scandal of grooming gangs.
It emerged earlier this month that Labour minister Jess Phillips rejected a request from the borough’s council for a government-led inquiry into child sexual exploitation in the town.
The decision led to claims of a cover-up which were amplified by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Labour’s position on the potential need for a national public inquiry into grooming gangs has since shown signs of changing, with Phillips telling Sky News she will “listen” to victims and “nothing is off the table”.
