A gallery of shame shows the faces of those who wreaked havoc on Britain's streets in a weekend of disgrace. Scores have now been charged in relation to the riots that took place over the past week, which saw police officers and innocent bystanders assaulted, buildings demolished, and local residents living in fear.
Government officials have stated that courts were prepared and an additional 567 prison spaces have been made available to incarcerate those charged. The first court appearances for those charged in relation to the chaos began on Monday, with magistrates dealing with alleged rioters as young as 14 years old. The teenager, who cannot be named due to legal restrictions, appeared before Liverpool Magistrates Court sitting as a youth court where he confessed to violent disorder.
The lad from Liverpool was spotted by police officers among a group of youths launching fireworks at passersby and a police vehicle. Another man who admitted the same charge, Josh Kellett, was identified as part of a larger group by his "distinctive tattoos", despite attempting to conceal his identity behind a balaclava as he hurled a stone at police in Sunderland, South Tyneside Magistrates Court was told.
Northumbria Police released mugshots of Kellett and two others, Leanne Hodgson and Andrew Smith, who were publicly shamed for their involvement in Friday night's violence in Wearside. Both Hodgson and Smith pleaded guilty to violent disorder and were remanded into custody, reports the Mirror.
Emotions ran high in South Yorkshire as 30-year-old Curtis Coulson fought back tears in Sheffield Magistrates Court, where he vehemently denied affray charges. The contentious incident in question occurred outside Sheffield City Hall on Sunday, with allegations of Coulson brandishing a stick at a woman.
Elsewhere, chaos ensued within the walls of Spellow Library in Liverpool when Adam Wharton, after being taken into custody for his destructive rampage, reportedly remarked "nice one, lad". Pleading guilty to burglary, Wharton's actions prompted the community to rally fiercely, amassing an impressive fund of over £106,000 to repair and replace what was lost or damaged in the fray.
The lamentable disorder of last weekend drew stern words from the bench, with one magistrate labelling the upheaval "absolutely disgraceful". Deputy District Judge Liam McStay was unequivocal in his comments to the Belfast Magistrates' Court, asserting, "The events at the weekend were absolutely disgraceful: a concerted and deliberate attempt to undermine public order and to then domineer the community and there were racist elements to it."
Judge McStay pressed on, highlighting the court's stance against such turbulence: "This court cannot allow the type of behaviour that occurred on Saturday to be repeated and be visited on other people, and the message has to be if you allow yourself to become involved in these matters for whatever reason, then you will face the consequences."
Gareth Rigby, 43, from Bolton, has been fined after pleading guilty to using threatening words or behaviour at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court. Rigby disgracefully told officers to "go f*** themselves" whilst being searched amidst the chaos in Bolton.
In another separate incident, Derek Drummond faced court following the tumultuous occurrences last Tuesday in Southport, which unfortunately marred a peaceful vigil held for Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, who tragically lost their lives in Monday's attacks. Drummond, hailing from Southport, admitted to violent disorder and assaulting a police officer that same night.
The arrest tally for the riots has reached at least 378 to date. Nonetheless, there's an apprehensive atmosphere as authorities prepare for potential further unrest, with numerous events predicted across the UK on Wednesday evening.
Devon and Cornwall Police have confirmed six people were taken into custody in Plymouth this past Monday following altercations that left "several officers" with minor injuries and resulted in two individuals requiring hospital care.
Justice minister Heidi Alexander assured BBC Radio 4's Today programme listeners, "We will make sure that anyone who is given a custodial sentence as a result of the riots and disorder, there will be a prison place waiting for them. What we have been able to do in the last week since the problems have arisen is that we have been able to bring forward some additional prison places that we had been due to bring on stream later in the month. There are 567 additional prison places."
When questioned on Times Radio about the sufficiency of lawyers for the upcoming prosecutions and the potential for courts to operate overnight, she responded, "I think we will make it work, because these are extraordinary circ*mstances and we need to be delivering swift justice."
