Man jailed for 'burn down hotels' online post during Manvers riot
This was the first case of its kind in relation to the Manvers riot brought before the courts in Sheffield.Haythorne's post was sent from an anonymised account and included a link to a post - which was later deleted - by activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson.The court heard the defendant had read inaccurate reports on social media about the Southport murders which then inflamed him to post.Bianca Brasoveanu, mitigating, said her client accepted he had made a "wrong connection" between the attack and "immigration in general"."He realised within that short lapse of time how wrong, damaging and bad those words were," Ms Brasoveanu told the court."His regret and remorse are echoed by the fact that he's pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity."Ms Brasoveanu said Haythorne suffered with his mental health, which had affected his reaction to posts about the Southport attacks.
'Sensitive and volatile time'
The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, accepted the defendant's vulnerabilities had had an impact but told him: "You knew what you were doing and you knew it was wrong."He said the facts of the case were so serious, only an immediate custodial sentence was justified."What you encouraged is exactly what happened: The hotel was the subject of a fire attack approximately an hour-and-a-half after you placed the post online," he said."It was a particular sensitive and volatile time and you full well knew that a hotel was the subject matter of a protest that afternoon."
Haythorne's sentencing hearing had previously been delayed due to the Crown Prosecution Service not seeking the necessary permission from the Attorney General to bring the charge.His original conviction was quashed and the process started again with the case brought back for sentencing on Wednesday following Haythorne's renewed guilty plea.Judge Richardson stated that due to "the conflicting issues in this case", he would explain the full reasons for the sentence during a hearing next week, but added that he did not believe it was fair to make the defendant wait any longer to learn what it would be.
Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
10 minutes ago
- The Sun
Girl under 16 ‘sexually assaulted at city centre nightclub' as 18-year-old arrested
A GIRL under 16 has been "sexually assaulted" at a city centre nightclub. An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of raping the girl at a nightclub in Digbeth, Birmingham last Sunday. West Midlands Police have launched an urgent investigation into the assault. The man has since been released on bail while inquiries continue. The force said: "On Sunday, July 27, the venue was open and trading. 'During the nights trading a serious assault took place inside the venue. 'This matter is a serious crime by virtue of the sentence tariff for the offence alleged. 'West Midlands Police have serious concerns for the promotion of the licensing objectives at this premises. 'The premises have been carrying out licensable activity when the incident occurred and the premises has been in breach of its operating conditions of its premises licence. 'In my opinion immediate steps are required that can best be achieved through the summary review procedures.' 1
The Guardian
17 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Is this tough US-EU trade deal a triumph for Brexit Britain? Only in leavers' most delusional fantasies
Those who misled the country over Brexit are usually quieter these days. They do not hang their heads in shame, but change the subject whenever they can. They deflect with their new war-cry that Britain must also leave the European convention on human rights. As the effects of their wicked Brexit folly worsen by the month, they rarely get a chance to whoop: 'We were right!' So their glee was unrestrained when the great US global bully gave Britain a less hard beating with a 10% tariff on its goods, compared with the EU, which was walloped with 15%. Their joy overflowed when the business and trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, conceded: 'I'm absolutely clear, this is a benefit of being out of the European Union, having our independent trade policy, absolutely no doubt about that.' But what else can a trade secretary, speaking through gritted teeth, actually say? In his attempts to attract foreign investment, he can hardly tell the truth about the damage done by leaving the EU. These advocates of Brexit should gloat while they can. When the French prime minister called the EU's deal with Donald Trump a 'soumission' (submission), Kwasi Kwarteng seized on the word in a piece for the Telegraph, writing: 'For the French, with their memories of capitulation to the Nazis in 1940, the word is even more associated with abject humiliation than it is in English.' Yes, that's the same Kwarteng who hurled the British economy over a cliff only three years ago. 'This trade deal is the EU's greatest humiliation since Britain voted to leave', read the headline on his column. But he would never confess that the difference between a 10% and 15% tariff with the US is minimal, since we trade twice as much with the EU as the US. It barely equates to the regular variation in exchange rates: in other words, it's 'a rounding error', the Centre for European Reform's trade expert, John Springford, told me, when compared with the hammer blow Britain gave itself with Brexit. The UK-India trade deal signed with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, last week was greeted with another Brexiter whoop from the Conservative peer Daniel Hannan. Also writing in the Telegraph, he said: 'My party, and Brexiteers more widely, should be taking credit for having done what all the clever Europhiles have spent six years telling us was impossible. Instead of moaning, we should welcome Starmer's belated understanding that world's biggest and fastest-growing markets are outside the EU.' But the Tory leader took another view: 'Keir Starmer called this 'historic.' It's not historic, we've just been shafted!' Kemi Badenoch said, dismissing the India agreement as a bad deal that would increase immigration. I don't know whether clever men like Kwarteng and Hannan are blinded by Brexit monomania or paralysed by the awful knowledge of the damage they have inflicted on their country, unable to confess an act of treachery and delusion hardly matched in British history. But as ever, facts are too inconvenient for them to deal with. Yes, the India deal is the biggest and most substantial trade deal since leaving the EU. Yes, it's a deal that would have been impossible to do from inside the union. But how big is it? It will add 0.13% to our economy. That's better than the Australia agreement, worth just 0.08%, the New Zealand deal, worth 0.03%, or the proposed US agreement, worth 0.16%, according to Department for Business and Trade analysis. But our fragile economy needs all the help it can get, so hurrah for Brexit and our new trade deals! But the gloaters ignore the context: our great Brexit losses. Here's the Office for Budget Responsibility's assessment: 'Our forecasts have assumed that the volume of UK imports and exports will both be 15% lower than if we had remained in the EU.' That 15% loss in trade 'will lead to a 4% reduction in the potential productivity of the UK economy'. In other words, as Jonty Bloom of the New World calculates, we need 50 India trade deals to make up for Brexit, because Britain does more than 40% of its trade with the EU – more if you include the European Economic Area and Switzerland. India has just 2% of our trade. Brexiters bleat that Labour is sneaking us into the EU by the back door, with deals on Horizon, the EU's research and innovation funding programme; soon, hopefully, Erasmus; and maybe a youth experience scheme. We hope for agricultural products and energy deals. But even these, say the trade experts, are still small potatoes. Major attempts to rescue Britain's 4% loss in productivity since 2020 hit the concrete walls of Boris Johnson's monumentally bad trade and cooperation agreement. Brexit zealots protest against agreements to keep a dynamic alignment with EU standards that would make trade easier. But it doesn't apply to our internal environmental standards: outside EU rules, we have let our water quality fall behind the EU. More than 85% of bathing waters in the EU are rated excellent compared with just 64% in the UK, with the gap rising every year, reports the European Movement. Public opinion has shifted rapidly: we are now a 'Bregretful' country, where only 31% still think it was right to leave and 61% say Brexit has been more of a failure than a success. Who do they blame? The Conservatives and Boris Johnson are top of the list, with 88% and 84% respectively holding them responsible. More than two-thirds (67%) blame Nigel Farage. A majority of Britons (56%) want to rejoin the EU as the grim reaper carries off old Brexiters, replacing them with young, pro-European voters. Don't expect bolder moves from the Labour government in its current frame of mind. Though defence and security draw us towards ever closer union, public opinion is not to be trusted. If people were confronted now with actual re-entry terms – paying in, free movement, joining the euro, no special deals – their answers might change. The mood might also be different if the far right continues its gains in EU countries, dividing the union's values. What might it take to throw off the economic, political and psychological darkness of Brexit? A clever – or Cleverly? – new Tory leader daring to break with the past, confessing the error of Brexit and taking us back into the EU, once and for all. It may take another generation to recover. Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
Reuters
28 minutes ago
- Reuters
West Ham midfielder Paqueta cleared of alleged betting breaches by FA
LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - West Ham United's Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta has been cleared of four alleged breaches of betting rules after an independent Regulatory Commission hearing, the Football Association said on Thursday. Last year, the 27-year-old was charged with deliberately seeking to receive a booking during four Premier League games between November 2022 to August 2023 against Leicester City, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth. The FA said it was alleged that Paqueta sought to influence the progress, conduct, or any other aspect of, or occurrence in those matches by deliberately trying to get booked to manipulate the betting market for the benefit of others. "Paqueta denied the charges against him, and a Regulatory Commission found them to be not proven following a hearing," the FA said in a statement. The Brazilian has been charged with two breaches in relation to alleged failures to comply with his obligations to answer questions and provide information to the FA investigation. Paqueta, who was facing the risk of a lifetime ban, denied the alleged spot-fixing charges and expressed frustration over media coverage of the matter , which he said was misleading. "Since the first day of this investigation, I have maintained my innocence against these extremely serious accusations," Paqueta said in a statement on Thursday. "I would like to express how grateful I am to God and how eager I am to return to playing football with a smile on my face. To my wife, to West Ham United, to the fans who always cheered me on, and to my family, friends and the legal team who have supported me, thank you." The FA began their investigation of the alleged betting breaches in August 2023. In October last year , Paqueta urged the FA to investigate how information from its case against him had been leaked to the media. "We are pleased Lucas has been cleared ... as a club we have resolutely stood by him and supported him throughout the process," West Ham Vice-Chair Karren Brady said. "Despite the incredible pressure on him, Lucas has performed week in and week out for the club, always giving everything. It has been a difficult time for Lucas and his family, but he has remained absolutely professional throughout." West Ham, who struggled to a disappointing 14th-place finish last season, begin their 2025–26 Premier League campaign at promoted Sunderland on August 16.
