Boy, 12, sentenced for role in anti-immigration riots in Southport

A 12-year-old boy has been sentenced for taking part in anti-immigration riots in Southport after three girls were murdered at an arts centre.

In August, a youth court heard that the teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was the youngest person to appear before the courts in relation to the unrest in the Merseyside town. He threw an object at police and was caught committing the offence on CCTV before leaving the scene on a bicycle.

The boy was sentenced to a 12-month referral order at Liverpool Youth Court today, and sat next to his dad in the dock. A statement from a police officer read out in court recalled blacking out after being hit with concrete three times during the disorder.

The boy will also be subject to a curfew between 21:00 and 07:00 each night. The district judge told him: “You’ll work with the young offending team – to make sure you don’t offend again and to protect other people from your offending,”

In his youth court appearance last month, the boy spoke only to confirm his name and enter a guilty plea to the charge of violent disorder. He was given bail under the condition of not entering St Luke's Road, where the riot took place.

Disorder erupted in Southport on Tuesday July 30 after violent protests were held following the killings of three girls at a Taylor Swift dance class at the town's Hart Space centre. A total of 53 officers were injured as bricks were thrown towards police lines and at a mosque.

Riots then spread across multiple towns and cities in the UK in the days that followed. In Liverpool city centre on Saturday August 3, a march billed as a peaceful demonstration to "save our kids" turned violent, with more police officers left injured.

Later that same day, another crowd gathered on County Road in the Walton area of the town and set fire to the Spellow library and community hub. Over 100 people have been arrested to date in relation to the disorder on Merseyside, while nearly 50 of them have been sentenced to a total of more than 100 years.

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