Police in Pakistan have charged a man with cyberterrorism for his alleged role in spreading misinformation thought to have led to widespread rioting in the UK, a senior investigator has said.

The suspect was identified as Farhan Asif, 32, a freelance web developer, said Imran Kishwar, the deputy inspector general of investigations in Lahore.

Asif is accused of spreading misinformation from YouTube and Facebook after an attacker stabbed to death three girls and injured 10 other people on 29 July at a dance class in Southport. The false information claimed that the knifeman was an asylum seeker who had recently arrived in the UK and had a name that suggested he was Muslim.

After misinformation led to a violent mob attacking a mosque near the site of the stabbing the next day, police took the unusual step of clarifying that the suspect was born in the UK.

Channel3 Now, an account on the X social media platform that purports to be a news channel, was one of the first outlets to report a false name for the attacker. A Facebook account for the channel said it was managed by people in Pakistan and the US.

The site’s editor in chief posted an apology on 31 July for “the misleading information published in a recent article on our website, Channel3 Now”, adding: “We deeply regret any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.”

But the false reports were widely disseminated and are blamed for fuelling more than a week of rioting that broke out across England and in Northern Ireland, leading to more than 1,000 arrests. Authorities have blamed far-right agitators for stoking the violent unrest by continuing to spread misinformation and promoting the violent demonstrations online.

At a news conference in Lahore, police said Asif was arrested at his house in the city for questioning. They said Asif had claimed that he was not the source of the misinformation but had reposted it from social media.

Police have handed over the case to the Federal Investigation Agency, which handles cases relating to cyberterrorism. It was unclear if Britain has requested Asif’s extradition.