More than £400,000 has been raised to repair and support businesses and mosques damaged during widespread rioting.
Heartwarming scenes outside of Southport’s mosque the day after a vigil for the three girls killed turned to disorder showed the community come together and repair a wall which had been knocked down.
And Bash Cafe in Belfast which was also torched has received more than £27,000 in donations.
It comes as yet another wave of people involved in rioting up and down the country have been charged or imprisoned.
Bodycam footage from rioting in Hartlepool released
Katie Boyden
Up Next
Welsh man charged with malicious communications
Katie Boyden
A man has been charged with malicious communications over material posted on social media ‘connected with the ongoing national tensions’.
Richard David Williams, 34, of Maes Deri, Elwoe, was taken into custody and he’ll appear atLlandudnomagistrates court tomorrow.
North Wales Police said: ‘This investigation followed the posting of material on a social media site and was connected with the ongoing national tensions.
‘We will respect the court process and withhold from further comment regarding this case at this time.’
Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman said: ‘I would like to remind the public of North Wales that we take any allegation of criminality, whether committed online or in person, extremely seriously.
‘Those who post in a suspected criminally irresponsible way will be located, swiftly investigated and, where appropriate, charged.’
Thousands raised to rebuild after rioting
Katie Boyden
A supporter of Spellow Lane Library Hub in Liverpool asked for £5,000 to replace books after it suffered severe damage when it was torched on Sunday.
As of Thursday more than £215,644 had been donated to the recently opened library, which also operated as a food bank.
Bash Cafe in Belfast, which sells Arabic coffee and falafel, was also burned in the riots and has received more than its target for repairs, with £27,321 raised.
The GoFundMe organiser said the owner Mohammed ‘did not see himself reopening’ after the windows were broken and the interior was extensively damaged by smoke and fire.
However, he has been ‘so encouraged by the support he has seen on this page from near and far that he is now looking for options to reopen the cafe in a different location’, the supporter said.
A Citizens Advice building in Sunderland was also set alight and has received £14,912 in donations.
Riots swept the UK after Bebe King, six, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at the Hart Space on Monday July 29 in Southport.
Individual GoFundMe pages for each of the girls’ families have raised nearly £200,000.
One page organised for all of their families raised £112,200 in 2,900 donations.
The Southport Dance Group Emergency Fund said: ‘The dance world is a wonderful community of people who gain such joy from dancing and it’s impossible to comprehend what has happened at this dance class.’
More than £18,561 has been donated to support Leanne Lucas, the yoga class instructor injured while protecting children at the holiday club.
Home Secretary says police ‘standing army’ will stay in place this weekend
Sam Corbishley
The Home Secretary has said the ramped-up police response to potential further riots would continue and suggested it was having an impact on stemming days of disorder.
Yvette Cooper met with police officers and Deputy Commission Dame Lynne Owens at the Metropolitan Police’s specialist operations room in Lambeth on Thursday.
She was asked by the BBC if the deployment of a ‘standing army’ of 6,000 officers would continue over the weekend.
Ms Cooper said: ‘We’re going to continue with this strong policing response, making sure that there are additional police officers ready to respond.’
After police were braced for disorder on Wednesday that largely failed to materialise, Ms Cooper said that expedited arrests, convictions and sentencing, as well as the thousands of additional officers on the streets, were having an impact.
Woman who first shared fake Southport rumour that sparked UK riots arrested
Danny Rigg
A 55-year-old woman from Cheshire has been arrested in suspicion of publishing written material to stir up racial hatred, and false communication.
Chief Superintendent Alison Ross said: ‘We have all seen the violent disorder that has taken place across the UK over the past week, much of which has been fuelled by malicious and inaccurate communications online.
‘It’s a stark reminder of the dangers of posting information on social media platforms without checking the accuracy.
‘It also acts as a warning that we are all accountable for our actions, whether that be online or in person.’
Woman who first shared fake Southport suspect rumour that sparked riots arrested
Councillor arrested on suspicion of encouraging murder
Danny Rigg
Dartford councillor Ricky Jones has already been suspended by the Labour Party.
Now he’s been arrested on suspicion of encouraging murder after calling for far-right activists’ throats to be ‘cut’.
He was filmed making the comments during a speech at an anti-racist protest in Walthamstow yesterday.
Labour councillor arrested for encouraging murder during UK riots
Teen yawns as he admits role in violent disorder that left police ‘fearing for life’ outside asylum seeker hotel
Danny Rigg
An 18-year-old man has admitted being part of a group who violently rocked a police van during rioting in Rotherham, leaving a police community support officer (PCSO) fearing for his life.
Kenzie Roughley, of Barnsley Road, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, was filmed punching and kicking a South Yorkshire Police CCTV van as hundreds of people battled with officers outside a hotel housing asylum seekers, a district judge was told.
Footage of the van being rocked from side, with its rooftop mast swinging alarmingly, was one of many dramatic images of Sunday’s violence.
Prosecutor Simon Walton told Sheffield Magistrates Court on Thursday that the PCSO inside the vehicle “described fearing for his life”.
The officer got into the driver’s seat and managed to drive it away, Mr Walton said.
Wearing a light blue hoodie, blond-haired Roughley yawned in the glass-fronted dock as he confirmed his details and pleaded guilty to one count of violent disorder.
He was remanded in custody to appear at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday.
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Police investigating clip of councillor saying ‘we need to cut all their throats’
Danny Rigg
Footage emerged earlier today of now-suspended Labour councillor Ricky Jones saying ‘we need to cut all their throats’.
The comment was made in relation to far-right activists during a speech at the anti-fascist protest in Walthamstow yesterday.
In response, the Metropolitan Police said on X: ‘We are aware of the significant public concern around this video. Officers are investigating as a matter of urgency. We will update as soon as we can.’
University campus to close as violence continues
Danny Rigg
While much of the UK saw far-right violence fade in the face of 25,000 anti-racist counter-protesters last night, Belfast has seen riots continue.
Bins were set on fire, cars and homes were attacked, and projectiles were thrown at riot police, who have received water canons previously loaned to the Irish police.
Queens University Belfast has announced it’s closing its campus and public buildings tomorrow as it urges young people to steer clear of the unrest.
Vice Chancellor Professor Sir Ian Greer said: ‘We abhor violence and condemn without reservation Islamophobia, racism and xenophobia in all forms.
‘As a university community, we are committed to diversity, equality, inclusion and belonging, and to our campus being a safe, secure environment for all staff and students.
‘I urge young people who might become involved in violence to understand that the biggest threat to your future prospects does not come from people fleeing persecution in other parts of the world, or from committed international staff who underpin the Health Service, or from families, like yours, who wish to live in peace and contribute to society here.’
Brothers who looted a burnt-out library jailed
Katie Boyden
Two men who looted a library community hub which had already been set on fire by rioters have been jailed.
28-year-old Adam Wharton and his 22-year-old brother Ellis Wharton targeted the site in County Road, Liverpool after widespread rioting on Saturday, after police came under attack.
As the rioting died down at around 2am on August 4, Adam Wharton acted as lookout while Ellis went inside the burnt-out Spellow Hub premises.
A police officer went inside and caught a masked Ellis Wharton in the act of removing a large computer monitor.
When challenged Ellis Wharton took up a ‘fighting stance’ as the officer attempted to restrain him and the defendant responded by lashing out and striking him in the chest.
Judge Neil Flewitt KC said he had ‘no doubt’ that Adam Wharton, who has a string of convictions for dishonesty including burglary, had involved and encouraged his younger brother, with no previous convictions.
Sentencing Adam Wharton to 20 months in jail and Ellis Wharton to 11 months in jail, the judge said: ‘The Spellow Hub was a valuable local resource and its loss will be felt deeply by the community.
‘Although your offending amounts in law to the offence of burglary, your conduct is more commonly described as “looting” – a despicable crime in which the offender seeks to profit from the misery of others.’
Both pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to burglary with intent to steal while Ellis Wharton changed his plea on Thursday to admit assaulting an emergency worker.
Ellis Wharton received an eight-month jail term for the burglary and a consecutive three months sentence for the assault.
Rioter who ‘karate kicked’ a shop window sent to jail
Katie Boyden
A man who admitted carrying out a ‘spinning karate kick’ against a shop window in Manchester on Saturday has been jailed.
23-year-old Oliver Chapman pleaded guilty to violent disorder this afternoon.
Prosecutor Robin Lynch told the court a ‘few hundred’ people had broken off from a police containment operation in Piccadilly Gardens and headed down Mosley Street after officers were ‘outnumbered’.
Mr Lynch said: ‘A large number of people began to kick shop windows and businesses.
‘This defendant was seen to do a spinning karate kick against a window.’
Chapman, of Duke Street, Radcliffe, was wearing a balaclava at the time.
In a police interview, Chapman said he was ‘very sorry for what had happened’, adding he had ‘just got mixed up’ and had felt ‘excited and adrenaline-filled’.
He was ‘disruptive’ while in custody, throwing coffee over his cell and being ‘abusive towards police officers’.
He’s been remanded in custody until he’s sentenced on August 15.
Two convicted for rioting in Sunderland at the weekend
Katie Boyden
Up Next
Two men have been convicted of violent disorder after getting involved in rioting in Sunderland at the weekend.
Riley Adey, 19 and of Heworth Crescent, and 31-year-old Reece Greenwood of The Gardens, appeared in court in South Tyneside this morning,
They both pleaded guilty of one count of violent disorder and they’ve been remanded in custody until they’re sentenced at Newcastle crown court next Wednesday.
Northumbria Police executed arrest warrants at addresses in Washington yesterday responding to intelligence including footage of Adey during the Sunderland protests.
It showed the 19-year-old standing on top of an upturned vehicle after it had been set alight – behaviour which Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Barr said will not be tolerated.
He said: ‘This is a great result for all involved – and will hopefully further reassure communities that we’re taking action.
‘The behaviour demonstrated by these two individuals put a lot of people’s safety at risk – and we simply will not tolerate it.
‘There is no place for this type of criminality in our communities and we will come down hard on anyone who causes such unrest.’
More disturbance on the cards with 20 riots and three counter-protests planned
Danny Rigg
If you thought last night was the end of far-right disorder, you might be wrong.
Of the 160 gatherings planned for last night, only 36 actually took place after roughly 25,000 anti-racist protesters gathered to face them down.
Plans for tonight are much smaller. Just 20 are said to be taking place, with three counterprotests, the National Police Chiefs’ Council said.
Rioter slammed to ground by shield after spitting on police is jailed for
Danny Rigg
Daniel McGuire, 45, of Crescent Avenue, Plymouth, has been jailed for 26 months after pleading guilty to a charge of violent disorder relating to a protest in Plymouth.
Prosecuting, Gareth Warden told Plymouth Magistrates’ Court how McGuire was ‘clearly intoxicated’ and pushed up against police shields, with the defendant ‘spitting on officers and shields’ despite being told to stop.
‘This was violent thuggery, it will not be tolerated in our society. You will be subjected to the full force of the law.’
Judge Robert Linford, sentencing McGuire at Plymouth Crown Court on Thursday, said the defendant had been drunk and returned after police asked him to leave.
He said McGuire was ‘seen to repeatedly spit at the police’ and video footage showed him ‘swearing and threatening to punch the police’.
Feleena Grosvenor, for McGuire, said that the defendant was ‘sorry for spitting and he was so ashamed during his interview he could barely watch the video’.
She said he had sustained a broken arm.
You can see our full list of people charged and sentenced after the riots here.
From the bingo hall to a prison cell – rioter bitten on arse gets 26 months in jail
Danny Rigg
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Ryan Sheers, 29, went viral when a police dog nibbled his bum after he taunted police with a slap on his arse and jeers of ‘I pay your wages’.
He and partner Steven Mailen, 54, had joined a riot targeting homes used by refugees in Hartlepool after spending the afternoon playing bingo.
Now they have each been jailed for two years and two months after pleading guilty to violent disorder.
You can read our full report here.
Councillor who called to cut throats of fascists is dropped by Labour
Danny Rigg
Ricky Jones drew his finger across his neck while speaking to the thousands of anti-racists gathered in Walthamstow last night.
‘They are disgusting Nazi fascists’, the Dartford councillor said in reference to far-right activists, ‘and we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all’.
His speech ended with applause and a chant of ‘free Palestine’.
The Dartford Labour website says Jones ‘has been a strong voice for residents on issues ranging from housing and fly-tipping to unfair car parking charges’.
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) August 8, 2024ð¨ NEW: Labour Councillor Ricky Jones has been suspended after he called for a crowd to âcut all the throatsâ of anti-immigration protestors
Jones has now been dropped by the party.
A Labour spokesperson said: ‘This behaviour is completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated. The councillor has been suspended from the party.’
The Met Police has since said it’s investigating the clip ‘as a matter of urgency’.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) August 8, 2024We are aware of the significant public concern around this video.
Officers are investigating as a matter of urgency.
We will update as soon as we can.
Fear felt by Muslim communities ‘like nothing I’ve seen in 40 years of policing’, says PSNI chief
Josh Milton
‘Those people who have come out to commit these hateful crimes will be pursued with the full force of the law.’
This is the strong message to the Belfast rioters from Chief Constable Jon Boutcher.
Tensions are high in Northern Ireland, with the country’s legislature, Stormont, being recalled.
The Northern Irish government, known as the Executive, held an emergency meeting this morning.
Following the meeting, Boutchersaid police are knocking on the doors of suspected rioters who took part in Saturday’s unrest.
‘I have met the leadership of the Muslim communities, but all our migrant communities, all our diverse communities feel under threat,’ he added.
‘They feel a fear of the like I have not seen in over 40 years of policing. That’s not just here, that’s across the country. This has got to stop and we will stop it.’
Rioter has a toddler tantrum after realising racists are massively outnumbered
Josh Milton
Last night,Metro.co.ukreported live on the ground from North Finchley, where a large counter-protest formed to ward off any far-right demonstrators from an immigration centre listed in an online list.
In an exclusive video now shared widely onsocial media, we caught the moment a protester who was draped in an English flag began yelling at counter-protesters.
He reacted exactly how you’d expect. You can read our full report here.
Rioter has a toddler tantrum after realising racists are massively outnumbered
Watch: Moment two Sunderland riot suspects arrested
Josh Milton
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Merseyside rioters jailed for two years and eight months
Josh Milton
Up Next
John O’Malley, 43, described being at the ‘front of a baying mob’, has been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for violent disorder in Southport.
The judge described that as much as O’Malley said he ‘regretted’ his actions, the ‘scale’ of violence he took part in could not be ignored. He used ‘obviously racist’ language outside a mosque, Judge Andrew Menaryadded.
O’Malley muttered something inaudible as he left the dock.
Semi-retired welderWilliam Nelson Morgan, 69, was sentenced two years and eight months for the same charge as well as possession of an offensive weapon.
Morgan stood silently with his head bowed as his sentence was read out.
His ‘advancing years plainly did not prevent’ him from taking part in the 100-strong mob ‘running amok’ through Liverpool.
Morgan had the cosh, which he claimed he brought in self-defence, was ‘clearly’ a weapon, the judge said.
The two sentences will run concurrently, rather than at the same time.
Both were reduced by a third as they pleaded guilty.
