Distrust of authority: The perception that police and courts fail to protect the vulnerable, forcing communities to fend for themselves. In the eyes of the law, the girl is a child charged with a weapons offence. A child has been charged, while a Bulgarian man — wrongly accused online — insists he has done nothing wrong. The myths travelled faster than the facts, merging grooming gang trauma, immigration fears, and Scottish defiance into a viral storm. The Braveheart echoes explain the emotional charge, but the truth is simpler: a frightened girl, a family man, and a country still fighting its culture wars.

Source: The Times August 28, 2025 06:38 UTC