Rotherham hotel disorder charge dropped for Liverpool rioter

Christopher Clayton, an individual facing charges linked to disturbances in both Liverpool and Rotherham, has had the South Yorkshire aspect of his case dismissed. Mr. Clayton admitted his participation in rioting in Liverpool on 3 August, but he had denied charges connected to the violence that occurred at a Holiday Inn Express in Manvers the subsequent day. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) informed Sheffield Crown Court that since the 66-year-old was awaiting sentencing for more serious offenses in Liverpool, it would not pursue the other charges. Clayton, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, is set to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on a date to be confirmed. Neil Coxon, the prosecuting barrister, stated that Clayton had recorded himself making “disparaging remarks about police officers” outside the hotel in South Yorkshire, but reportedly departed the scene before the situation escalated into “major mob violence.” Mr. Coxon added that the CPS had “reviewed the situation” and resolved to “offer no evidence” for the Rotherham charges, specifically violent disorder and a racially aggravated public order offence. Following the hotel riot, which involved the building housing more than 200 asylum seekers being “besieged by people trying to set it on fire,” dozens of men have now been sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court. A previous sentencing hearing revealed that more than 50 police officers were injured, in addition to police horses and dogs, and the asylum seekers and staff trapped inside the hotel feared they would be “burnt alive.” In Merseyside, the total number of arrests made in connection with the riots currently stands at 136. Of these, 94 individuals have been charged, and 73 have been sentenced to a collective total of 156 years and six months in prison.