Man sentenced to nine years for asylum hotel riot

A man who attempted to ignite a hotel accommodating asylum seekers has been given a nine-year prison sentence, which is the joint-longest custodial term issued in connection with the UK’s summer of riots. Levi Fishlock shattered windows and fueled a burning refuse bin at the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, amidst a period of unrest that occurred on August 4. Fishlock, aged 31, residing at Sheffield Road, Barnsley, initially contested accusations of violent disorder and arson with intent to endanger life, but subsequently admitted guilt to these offenses. During the sentencing, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, the Recorder of Sheffield, stated: “This is one of the worst cases of its kind stemming from the Rotherham disorder.” Fishlock’s nine-year sentence, which incorporates a five-year post-release license period, mirrors the sentence received by Thomas Birley. Birley was also among the approximately 400 individuals, some of whom tried to set fire to the hotel in South Yorkshire. Extensive unrest resulted in injuries to more than 60 police officers as rioters, many carrying weapons, surrounded the hotel. Amidst the violence, police instructed security personnel and occupants within the hotel to seek refuge in bedrooms and secure their doors for protection. During the two-day sentencing proceedings at Sheffield Crown Court, it was revealed that Fishlock wore “a very identifiable” purple T-shirt while breaking the hotel’s windows by launching bricks and fragmented paving slabs. Fishlock, whose shirt displayed the name Bellingham and the number 10 on its reverse, informed arresting officers that his actions of throwing projectiles and fueling the fire were for a “good cause,” even though approximately 200 asylum seekers and hotel staff were confined within the beleaguered structure. He additionally employed fencing slats and metal poles “as weapons against officers” and was observed “smashing up” an air conditioning unit situated outside the hotel. The court was also informed that Fishlock held a “sharp-edged object” while making menacing gestures toward individuals inside the hotel, and ignited makeshift barricades. Prosecutor Alisha Kaye stated: “In his pre-sentencing report he stated he just came upon the incident and had no intention to go there deliberately.” She added: “It’s remarkable coincidence that he was wearing an England shirt. He is deliberately tapping his England badge [on footage].” Fishlock, a father of one, had no prior convictions, but received a reprimand in 2007 for violent disorder and a caution in 2010 for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Judge Richardson informed him: “You were a prominent participant. You played a part in almost every aspect of the racist mob violence on that terrible day in August in Rotherham.” The judge continued: “You and many like you were intent on spreading a hateful message of violence and racism.” He concluded: “From first to last, the venom of racism infected the entirety of what occurred.” Benn Robinson, representing Fishlock, informed the court that his client had experienced a “problematic relationship with drugs in various junctures of his life” subsequent to his brother’s death during his teenage years. Robinson stated that Fishlock contended with anxiety and depression and, reflecting on his actions in Manvers, had expressed “genuine shame and remorse.” According to BBC research, Fishlock is the 80th individual to be sentenced for their involvement in the disturbances at and near the hotel. Chris Hartley of the Crown Prosecution Service commented that Fishlock’s significant role in the riot “terrified the residents and staff of the hotel and caused significant amounts of physical damage.” Hartley added: “Highly experienced police officers described the disorder as the worst they had ever seen in their careers. “The violence had left them in fear for their lives.”” Mr. Hartley expressed that the severe sentence handed down ought to “serve as a lesson for anyone considering taking part in this type of disorder in future.”