A “right-wing” former prison officer has been found not guilty of inciting racial hatred in a series of social media posts shared before and after the Southport attacks.

Mark Heath has denied posting “threatening, abusive or derogatory” posts on X (formerly Twitter) between July 22 and August 6 this year.

He told the court they had “strong views” and “did not encourage violence”.

Jurors at Loughborough Courthouse, which sits at Leicester Crown Court, acquitted the Southport attacker of stabbing three children to death in Merseyside on July 29 after they were shown screenshots of his posts during the week-long trial. Asylum seeker who came to England by boat.

Jurors were told Mr Heath, 45 and a father of one, posted a message on the day of the stabbings in Southport that was viewed 228,000 times: “It’s real now. His name is Ali Al Shakati, he came on a boat last year, he said he was 17 years old so his name will not be released, multiple eyewitnesses said he shouted ALLAHU AKBAR.”

The court was shown another post made on July 29: “Just think, how many ALI AL SHAKATIs are coming and already here, ready to slaughter our children!!”

Mr Heath, whose profile X has more than 6,000 followers, told the court he was a “right-winger” but did not consider himself a “right-wing extremist”.

The images added to one of the tweets included the slogans “It is time for us, the nation, to take back our country” and “I will not bow to Islam in my own country.”

Another post was titled “COMING” with the hashtag “Civil War.”

The court heard Mr Heath, who had worked at HMP Peterborough for five years, republished rally dates published by political activist Tommy Robinson.

Mr Heath, of Kestrel Road, Oakham, Rutland, had previously told jurors that he believed the people who rioted after the Southport attacks were “stupid” and that he “100% condemns” them.

He added: “I do not encourage or support a call to arms in any of my posts regarding the riots. This is not who I am.

“I have strong opinions and I express those opinions, but I have never tried to incite racial hatred or thought it would incite anything.”

Prosecuting barrister Lyndon Harris summed up the Crown’s case on Thursday, telling the jury: “(Mr Heath) intended for others to share his views, to share the hatred he described towards Muslims, immigrants and non-British people.

“We say that in the context of this summer’s riots and unrest, the intention to incite racial hatred is extremely clear.”

Mr Heath’s defense lawyer, Christopher Surtees-Jones, told the jury that “the views expressed by Mr Heath are also regularly expressed in public by politicians and others”.

He said the defendant had a “strong belief” that X was a “safe place for free expression” and made it clear that his posts were his own opinion.

Mr Surtees-Jones added: “Strong views are views that are legally accepted, whether you agree with them or not.”

Mr Heath, sitting in the dock wearing a red T-shirt, punched the air with both fists when he heard the verdict.

Judge Timothy Spencer KC thanked the jury for their service and discharged the defendant.