LONDON: A British man was sentenced to nine years in prison on Friday for setting fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers during anti-Muslim riots, by far the longest sentence imposed in the recent widespread violent unrest.
Thomas Birley, 27, pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life after stoking a fire in a rubbish bin next to the entrance of a hotel near Rotherham, northern England, on August 4.
Prosecutor Alisha Kaye said Birley added wood to an already burning industrial container which had been placed in front of a fire door at the hotel as staff and guests took shelter inside.
Birley, who had also pleaded guilty to violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court by Judge Jeremy Richardson, who said Birley's actions were “steeped in racism from start to finish”.
The hotel was attacked by around 400 people during days of unrest that included violence, arson and looting, as well as racist attacks, which followed the murder of three girls in the northern English town of Southport on July 29.
The attack was initially blamed on a migrant, based on false claims based on misinformation on the internet. Axel Rudakubana, an 18-year-old from Cardiff, has been charged.
A protest in Southport the day after the killings turned violent and riots spread across the country in unrest not seen in Britain since 2011, when the fatal shooting of a black man by police sparked days of street violence.
Police and prosecutors have responded quickly, with approximately 1,300 people arrested and around 200 people jailed, including one facing up to six years in prison for violent disorder.
Others have been accused of inciting racial or religious hatred online.
