A 58-year-old British man has become the first person to receive a substantial prison sentence for taking part in the Southport riots.
Rioter Derek Drummond was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison for taking part in the violence, which unfolded after the killing of three young children lin the Merseyside town last week.
Mr Drummond, of Pool Street in Southport, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court, after he plead guilty to charges of violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker.
The British man was part of a group of roughly 300 people who engaged in disorder outside a Mosque in the town, with Drummond attacking a police officer by punching him in the face. The Mail Online previously reported that Drummond had attended the Southport vigil in memory of the victims who were stabbed to death, before getting caught up in subsequent riots.
Southport Police said: “Drummond was among a group of around 300 people walking towards the mosque on St Luke’s Road. As the group was challenged by officers, Drummond punched an officer to the face and was later seen dismantling a wall and throwing bricks towards officers.”
Assistant Chief Constable Paul White said: “Drummond took to the streets of a town still reeling from the devastating news that three young children had been killed at a dance class.
“He engaged in destructive and threatening behaviour that inflicted fear and destruction on an area grieving and in shock.
“We deployed police officers to the area to protect the public. They showed immense courage in the face of terrible aggression, and Drummond chose to assault them.
“These were officers whose colleagues had just a day earlier faced unspeakably tragic scenes on Hart Street as they tended to victims and detained a man later charged with murdering three children.
“Drummond’s disgusting behaviour that day has got him exactly where he belongs – in a prison cell.”
The haulier later made the admission that he had acted like a “fool” and handed himself in to police after a public appeal. He also said he was guilty of “letting his family down,” saying his own behaviour was “appalling.”
“I’m absolutely ashamed of the way I acted,” he told detectives. “I’ve let Southport down. I’ve let the kids down. I’ve let my family down and I’m not here to deny anything.”
Earlier today, courts across Britain heard pleas from people accused of rioting in the aftermath of the knife attack on the three children last Monday.
It comes after new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to ensure those responsible would “feel the full force of the law.”
Meanwhile, a 29-year 0ld man was jailed for setting fire to a seatbelt in a police van while a vehicle was parked in the city centre during the riots. Declan Geiran, who has 13 previous convictions, was given a two and a half year prison sentence at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, after video footage and CCTV captured Geiran, who was arrested a short time later.
His defence said that his client had not rioted in the name of political ideology, stating: “He doesn’t understand what far right and far left means. He simply went along with the flow.”
A third man, meanwhile, received a 20 month sentence for violent disorder. Liam Riley, 41, who had no previous convictions, had been at a number of pubs and had “stupidly become involved” in the disorder.
Senior district crown prosecutor Jonathan Egan said that the three men sentenced today were “the tip of the iceberg.”
He also said it was “just the start of what will be a very painful process for many who foolishly chose to involve themselves in violent unrest.”
“Many of those involved will be sent to prison for a long time,” he said.