Why is what’s happening in Leicester secret?

That's probably because the internet was full of a video of a random man who jokingly sat in a police car earlier, while all the racists tweeted about "usual suspects".

Even when the CCTV came out of what happened and a video of the perpetrator being arrested, there were lots of people tweeting about how it was all a coverup because he didn't look like the guy in the other video. The "white man being scapegoated for the non-white man" narrative was ALL OVER the internet.

It's not possible to go back in time and look.

Can you show a definite screenshot with that time and that heading?

I can't that report until 1130, after this thread started.

Except a police officer giving an initial public statement about an ongoing investigation where all the details aren't yet available isn't bothered about any of that, they're bothered about unverified/false information spreading on social media and the very real potential for very stupid people to start kicking off outside mosques or setting fire to hotels as a result.

Nobody can stop anybody thinking about things, and suggesting that the police are trying to do so is genuinely ridiculous.

Are you suggesting that all the pictures of him smiling are not 'real', but the one where he's scowling is? What makes it real? That picture was all over every media outlet the second it was made public, nobody 'suppressed' anything.

The reason he wasn't identified in the media initially is because he was 17, and it is illegal to identify a minor. A judge lifted the ban three days later A) Because he was nearly 18 and B) To stop idiots speculating and getting wound up about a cover up.

All police forces have their own Comms teams. They don't need the Met to show them how it's done.
It will be up to the SIO to decide what info is released to the press and when.
It's then up to the media to decide which stories they run with.
Now the police have the added pressure of people spreading sometimes false information online. Once word gets out of an incident you get all sorts rubber necking, trying to get the details so that they can sell it on.
Unfortunately all morals go out the door and some don't spare a thought for the victim or their loved ones.

There isn't a media blackout in this case?

"Don't speculate" tends to mean they're suppressing something that could cause unrest

Rubbish. The same plea was made about the Huntingdon stabbings, for example. When all the racists were claiming it was a terrorist attack or an attack by boat people.

But it does affect things outside our head. It affects who we trust, who we believe, it shapes our prejudices and assumptions, it pushes us away from our default media sources and towards alternatives, it affects our attitudes and political outlook, it affects who we vote for - Trump and Brexit are the outcome of people thinking thoughts!

They very much do not want us to think about it.

Here you go:

A media blackout, which is a temporary restriction or total ban on reporting specific information, is typically implemented to maintain safety, security, or control. Common reasons include protecting national security, managing active hostage crises or police operations, restricting information during political instability, or enforcing legal/contractual, such as sporting event broadcasting rules.

That doesn't make any sense....

"Don't speculate" tends to mean they're suppressing something that could cause unrest. The more often this happens the closer "don't speculate" becomes synonymous with active suppression for political purposes. The training is going in the opposite direction of your flawed analogy.

Let's hope this is an exception.

Because they're quite clearly asking people not to share their speculation publicly on social media or in the community, where it can have real world repercussions. They're quite clearly not asking people not to think about something, because thinking about something doesn't affect anything outside of your own head.

In the hope that racists spreading shite on SM might one day take notice and stop speculating?

You know, in the way you keep training a dog not to defecate on the carpet in the hope that one day the dog gets the message.

I suppose the difference is that dogs usually cotton on quite fast.

Are you a Guardian reader by any chance?

My experience is local police forces aren't very good at communicating with the public about major events: they're stretched for resources and not accustomed to dealing with events on this scale.

It's a different matter from, say, a potential terrorist incident in central London where the police have a bit more relevant experience and probably more training and manpower, not to mention more press attention to deal with.

You think they were off to Leicester?

So the police know it fuels speculation but they do it anyway? Why?

I imagine they’ve been quiet on the details because of the assailant is anything other than white the likes of Tommy Robinson et al and all the racist twats will be trying to march to “take are country back”.

He was Welsh. And Christian. What's your point?

They do mean you shouldn't think about it.

You think the police are telling you not to think about something? How does that work? And how would someone simply thinking about it impact anything?

Nothing is a bigger trigger for speculation than telling people not to speculate. It doesn't stop speculation, it fuels it.

Do you think the police don't know that?