Thomas Birley: Watch Sheffield judge as he gives Rotherham painter longest sentence so far for summer riots

The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, jailed Thomas Birley, of Rowms Lane, Swinton, Rotherham, for nine years for conduct he described as being ‘unquestionably’ one of the most serious of the dozens of rioters he has sentenced so far.

Birley, aged 27, was one of hundreds of people who battled with police, as widespread violent disorder unfolded outside the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham - where asylum seekers were being housed - on August 4, 2024.

He was filmed throughout the day displaying what police described as ‘disgusting examples of violence, anger and abuse towards officers, including threatening officers with a police baton’.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson added: “Body worn video showed Birley throw a bin and rocks at officers who were stood protecting some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

“Later, Birley was filmed deliberately blocking an entrance to the hotel, which was previously set alight, with a sheet of wood and a large bin.”

Birley was subsequently charged with, and pleaded guilty to, offences of violent disorder, arson with intent to endanger life and possession of an offensive weapon.

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At the conclusion of Birley’s Sheffield Crown Court sentencing hearing on Friday (September 6), Judge Richardson also handed Birley a five-year extended licence - bringing his total sentence to 14 years.

He told him: “What took place in Rotherham that day had nothing whatever to do with legitimate public protest. It was a desire to perpetrate mob rule and commit very serious criminal offences in the process.

“It is clear beyond doubt that from first to last the venom of racism infected the entirety of what occurred.

“The incident was part of wider national civil unrest fostered by a form of malignancy in society spread by malevolent users of social media. The disorder was racist and extremely frightening for anyone who was there.

“It was perpetrated by an ignorant mob of which you were part.”