A woman from Moston who purchased eggs which were then thrown by protesters during an incident outside an asylum seeker hotel has denied her involvement in violent disorder. Barbara Barker pleaded not guilty to the charge at Manchester Crown Court, with the alleged offence said to have occurred in the Newton Heath area of the city on 31 July, following the Southport knife attacks. Barker was released on bail and is due to appear at another hearing in November, before her trial on 13 February next year.
At the same court, Scott Chadwick, a homeless man, was sentenced to 22 months in jail for violent disorder in the centre of Manchester on 3 August. Chadwick, aged 34, had stolen alcohol from a branch of Sainsbury’s and attempted to steal from a vape shop during the disturbance, during which police struggled to restore calm. Judge Nicholas Dean KC commented that Chadwick’s behaviour “has got nothing to do with protest, politics or events in Southport and everything to do with the mob mentality when people gathered. It’s just loutish, looting behaviour. This was utterly shameful behaviour of the type that plainly requires a sentence of immediate custody.”
Christopher Beard, from Wigan, was sent to prison for two years and eight months after pleading guilty to violent disorder. Beard, aged 33 and described as wearing a “maniacal grin”, built a bonfire and hurled objects such as missiles at police in Southport on 30 July. There were also convictions and sentencing over violent behaviour and disorder that followed the Southport attacks in other courts around England.
Jordan Rawlings, from Durham, was jailed for 24 weeks for shouting racist abuse at police during a protest near Downing Street on 31 July, while a 15-year-old boy from Bristol, widely believed to be the first young person imprisoned for the recent disorder, was given four months’ youth detention and training having pleaded guilty to his involvement in disturbances during an anti-immigration march in the city on 3 August
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