A MAN has been jailed for nine years for his role in an arson attack at a hotel housing asylum seekers, marking the longest sentence linked to a series of anti-immigration riots in the UK.
Thomas Birley, 27, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court after pleading guilty to arson with intent to endanger life.
The incident took place on 4 August at a hotel near Rotherham, northern England.
Prosecutor Elisha Kay said Birley had added wood to an already burning industrial bin placed against a fire door of the hotel while staff and guests were sheltering inside.
Hotel staff barricaded themselves in a panic room, fearing for their lives. "They thought they were going to burn to death," Kay added.
Birley was also convicted of violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon.
Judge Jeremy Richardson, who delivered the sentence, described Birley's actions as "suffused with racism from beginning to end." He noted that Birley had been encouraged to participate in the violence by "malicious and ignorant posts" on social media.
The hotel was targeted by around 400 people during days of unrest, which included violence, arson, looting, and racist attacks, following the killing of three young girls in Southport on 29 July.
An Islamist migrant was falsely blamed for the murders due to misinformation spread online, though a suspect born in Cardiff has since been charged with the killings.
Birley's sentencing follows a series of arrests and prosecutions related to the riots. More than 1,300 arrests have been made, and over 200 people have been jailed, with Birley's nine-year sentence being the harshest so far.
Prior to this, the longest sentence handed out in connection with the riots had been six years.
Birley's involvement in the violence was further highlighted by his actions of throwing missiles at police officers and confronting them while wielding a police baton.
The unrest led to injuries to 64 police officers, three horses, and a dog.
(With inputs from agencies)
Migrants in a dinghy crossing the English Channel
Sunder Katwala