Judge urges consideration of charge carrying heftier sentence for main rioters
Judge John Thackray KC said an alternative charge of riot should be considered for those playing central roles in the disorder.
A judge has encouraged prosecutors to consider charging offenders who played central roles in the recent disorder in parts of the UK with rioting, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
The words of Judge John Thackray KC, the Recorder of Hull, came after a three-year prison term was handed to Connor Whiteley, who kicked a female police officer to the ground during riots in the Yorkshire city.
Whiteley, 26, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker, after playing a “prominent role” in the “racist, hate-fuelled mob violence” that unfolded in the city on August 3.
Hull Crown Court heard he was at the front of a group confronting police who were trying to protect a hotel known to house asylum seekers, and was seen charging at officers.
Sentencing him on Wednesday, the judge said: “The prosecution do need to look, for those who are playing front and central roles, at the alternative charge of riot rather than violent disorder.”
Violent disorder carries a maximum sentence of five years, and the maximum term for rioting is 10 years, according to sentencing guidelines.
At the same court, father-of-three Trevor Lloyd, 49, who was part of a mob that stormed the hotel, was also jailed for three years.
In Sheffield, a 60-year-old man who pulled a police officer to the ground and grabbed a riot shield as the officer was trying to protect another hotel housing asylum seekers, was jailed for two years and eight months.
At Manchester Magistrates’ Court, a man who was convicted of encouraging violence told a district judge: “I’m guilty miss, but I’m not sure what it means.”
Warren Gilchrest, 52, pleaded guilty to violent disorder after joining a “large group of far-right protesters” who gathered in Piccadilly Gardens on August 3.
In Birmingham, Habeeb Khan pleaded not guilty at the city’s crown court to a charge of possessing an imitation AK-47 with intent to cause “members of the EDL” (English Defence League) to believe violence would be used against them.
Kahn, 49, of Sparkbrook, Birmingham, also denied sending a communication threatening death or serious harm between August 4 and 6 in a video uploaded to X, formerly Twitter.
The Metropolitan Police said more people have been charged over disorder in Whitehall on July 31, including a 14-year-old boy.
