A purported online news site ran a fake news report yesterday claiming that David Burt, the Premier, had died.

The hoax story also claimed that the news had come from The Royal Gazette. The site, which calls itself Houston News, has been implicated before for falsifying news reports.

In September 2017, international media, including the BBC, exposed the site as taking part in a burst of “fake news” surrounding Hurricane Irma after the storm devastated the Caribbean.

The story, which claimed Sir Richard Branson had been injured by looters at his home on the British Virgin Islands, used a photograph taken from 2016 showing the British billionaire’s injury from a bike accident. Yesterday’s story, which described the Gazette as “Bermuda’s longstanding government mouthpiece”, used a URL masquerading as ABC News.

Mr Burt’s political background was described along with his swearing-in ceremony.