The men who have been jailed for rioting so far | UK News – MASHAHER

Rioters responsible for violence across the country have had their court cases fast-tracked to warn others they will “suffer the consequences” if they decide to take part.

Some have been jailed for targeting mosques, immigration centres, and other community buildings amid disinformation around the Southport knife attack.

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who was director of public prosecutions during the London 2011 riots, has described the rioters as “far-right thugs” and vowed they will face the “full force of the law”.

Here are the people who have been jailed so far.

Derek Drummond, 58

Drummond, of Liverpool, has been given the longest sentence of anyone convicted for their part in the riots so far.

He was handed three years in prison after pleading guilty to punching PC Thomas Ball in the face in Southport as rioters targeted a mosque – as well as violent disorder.

Drummond was outside the mosque in the Merseyside town when around 300 people started marching towards it looking “very aggressive” and shouting: “This is our f***ing country,” Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard.

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Police officers called to the scene had to withdraw as they feared becoming overwhelmed, while the protesters moved forward shouting: “England till I die,” the court was told.

PC Ball was trying to protect his colleagues as they put their riot gear on, but Drummond called them “shithouses” and punched the officer in the face, the prosecutor said. The officer was left with cuts and bruises while Drummond was struck with a baton.

Drummond handed himself in to police, saying he was “absolutely ashamed of the way I acted”, adding: “I’ve let Southport down, I’ve let the kids down. I’ve let my family down.”

He has 14 previous convictions for 19 offences dating back to 1988.

Declan Geiran, 29

Geiran, of Liverpool, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to violent disorder and setting a police van on fire in Liverpool city centre.

The vehicle had been abandoned by officers on Saturday 3 August as rioters overwhelmed the city centre.

Geiran was found with three lighters and seen on CCTV among a group of people using an implement to set the van on fire.

The 29-year-old had 13 previous convictions for 18 offences, including breach of a community order and a malicious communications offence.

Liam James Riley, 41

Riley, of Kirkdale, was jailed for a year and eight months after pleading guilty to violent disorder and a racially aggravated public order offence.

He joined a group of around 100 people who were seen throwing rocks and bricks smashing at least one shop window, in Liverpool city centre.

Riley was found with a poster that said “this is Allah’s city” and told police “having heard about the march through word of mouth attended in solidarity wearing a St George’s flag”.

As he was arrested, he called the police officers detaining him “traitors” and “Muslim lovers”, Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard.

Despite others in the group running from police when they arrived, Riley stood his ground, shouting and waving his arms, prosecutor Joshua Sanderson-Kirk told the court.

Adam Wharton, 28

Wharton and his brother Ellis live a “stone’s throw away” from Spellow Lane library in Walton where they were both arrested on 4 August, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

He was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison after admitting being part of the 300 people who attacked the community hub.

He was arrested near the scene in the early hours of the morning wearing a balaclava, having acted as a lookout while his brother went inside to steal goods, the court was told.

Wharton had 16 previous convictions for 26 offences, including robbery and burglary.

His lawyer said he held “no far-right views”, but “took the opportunity to steal” and now “wishes he had stayed home that night”.

Ellis Wharton, 22

Adam Wharton’s younger brother Ellis was found by police inside the library with a computer monitor, Liverpool magistrates’ court heard.

He was sentenced to 11 months in prison after admitting burglary with intent and assaulting PC Thomas Nielsen as he was arrested at around 2am on 4 August.

Wharton claimed he had been “blackmailed” by his brother to go looting during the attack on the library, which was only opened last year and is home to a food bank.

The brothers’ mother sobbed as they were jailed and shouted: “I love you” and “can I just thank you, judge”.

William Nelson Morgan, 69

The semi-retired welder was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison after admitting violent disorder and possession of a wooden bat in Liverpool on 3 August. He was also given a two-year serious violence reduction order.

Morgan was part of a group of people “running amok”, setting fire to bins and throwing bricks at local businesses, as well as the Spellow Lane Library in the Walton area of the city, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Morgan’s “advancing years did not prevent him from playing an active part in the disturbance”, Judge Andrew Menary KC said, adding that Morgan claimed he was using the bat for his protection but it was “plainly” intended as a weapon.

It took three officers to detain him, he added.

Morgan is from the local area and has no previous convictions, with the judge noting it was “sad” to see someone of “his age and character in the dock of a crown court”.

John O’Malley, 43

O’Malley was also sentenced to two years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to violent disorder outside a mosque in Southport on 30 July.

He claimed he was just “standing in a group of people shouting and gesticulating”, but didn’t throw any objects or damage any property.

Judge Andrew Menary KC, however, said he was “at the front at what was essentially a baying mob” and part of a “surge that broke police lines”.

O’Malley had a previous conviction for battery and being “part of a crowd using obviously racist and religiously intolerant language” was an aggravating factor.

Steven Mailen, 54

Malien was sentenced to two years and two months in prison for being at the “very forefront of the mob” in Hartlepool on 31 July.

The court heard that the former postmaster and school governor was “one of the main instigators” of the violent disorder in the town that day, which involved around 200 people.

He got involved after an afternoon bingo session with his partner, the court heard.

Ryan Sheers, 29

Sheers, who is in a relationship with Steven Mailen, was also given two years and two months in prison after pleading guilty to violent disorder in Hartlepool.

The former McDonald’s worker was bitten on the hip by a police dog during the disorder, the court was told.

Lucas Ormond Skeaping, 29

Ormond Skeaping was jailed for 18 months after Go Pro footage showed him throwing objects at people gathered in Plymouth city centre during violent disorder there. He also admitted pushing a cyclist off their bike as part of a so-called counter protest.

Daniel McGuire, 45

McGuire was handed two years and two months in prison after spitting at a police in Plymouth and pleading guilty to violent disorder.

Michael Williams, 51

Williams, of Devon, was captured kicking a man in Plymouth city centre, before hurling bottles and rocks at police during disorder there.

Plymouth Crown Court heard that he drank six cans of Stella Artois before joining the riot and was heard chanting: “Who the f*** is Allah’ repeatedly.

The 51 year old also told police a rock found in his pocket was for “healing purposes”, which a judge dismissed as “ludicrous”.

He was jailed for two years and eight months after pleading guilty to violent disorder.

Guy Sullivan, 43

Sullivan was sentenced to 16 months in prison after pleading guilty to violent disorder and burglary, having broken into a Tesco during disorder in Plymouth.

Almost 500 people have been arrested and 150 charged across the UK since violence first broke out in Southport on 30 July.