Arsonist involved in fire outside migrant hotel handed longest sentence yet over UK riots

An arsonist who stoked a fire outside a Rotherham hotel hosting asylum seekers during last month’s riots has been jailed for nine years.

It is the longest sentence handed down so far over last month’s violence, which erupted across the UK following the killing of three children in a stabbing at a dance class in Southport.

Thomas Birley, 27, of Swinton, near Rotherham, previously pleaded guilty to a charge of arson with intent to endanger life, one count of violent disorder, and possession of an offensive weapon – a police baton.

He was sentenced to nine years in custody with five years on license as part of a 14-year extended sentence.

It comes after masked rioters broke into the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, which was being used to provide accommodation for asylum seekers, and destroyed a communal area, as violence escalated in towns and cities across the UK.

Sheffield Crown Court heard that, during the riots, Birley was part of a group that smashed ground-floor windows and called the police “f****** nonce protectors”.

During the riot, a fire was lit outside the hotel and Birley, a painter and decorator, was seen adding a piece of chipboard to it. He was also seen helping to move a bin on top of the fire.

In sentencing, the judge said it was “clear as clear can be” that Birley was “intent on spreading a hateful message of violence and racism”.

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“It appears you hold views that are anti-empathetic to those seeking refuge in the UK,” the judge said.

“You said you went to the hotel to voice your opinion. You were encouraged to do what you did because of posts on social media.

“You knew you were going to participate in racist mob violence – you took a scarf on a warm day to cover your face.”

The riots came following a wave of disinformation, spread largely by far-right accounts on social media, surrounding the identity of the Southport suspect – who it was wrongly claimed was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.

The judge said Birley’s case was “unquestionably” the most serious to come before him in relation to the rioting outside the hotel.

During the sentencing, the prosecutor told the court that by 12:30pm, crowds at the hotel had grown to 400.

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Police cordoned the entrance off but protesters broke through, with many entering the Holiday Inn and causing “lots of damage”.

The court heard Birley also chanted “Yorkshire” while taking part in the disorder.

Birley was involved in a “persistent and widespread act of violence on people and property,” which lasted more than 12 hours.

The defence said Birley keeps himself isolated as he suffers from ADHD, that he had a difficult start to life but was a working man.

Birley, the defence added, had only been an “enthusiastic contributor” to the disorder seen at the hotel, rather than the architect of it.

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