AN arsonist who stoked a migrant hotel fire during riots has been jailed for NINE years – the longest sentence yet over protests.
Thomas Birley, 27, pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life after he stoked a fire in a bin in front of a hotel near Rotherham.
Prosecutor Alisha Kaye said Birley added wood to an already-flaming industrial bin during the riot on August 4
The bin had been placed in front of a fire door of the hotel while staff and guests sheltered inside.
Birley, who had also pleaded guilty to violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court.
Judge Jeremy Richardson said Birley’s actions were “suffused with racism from beginning to end”.
The hotel was targeted by around 400 people during days of rioting involving violence, arson and looting as well as racist attacks.
Police and prosecutors have responded rapidly, with roughly 1,300 people having been arrested and around 200 people jailed one for as long as six years’ imprisonment for violent disorder.
Others have been charged for inciting racial or religious hatred online.
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