UK riots: boy, 12, becomes youngest person in England to be sentenced

A 12-year-old boy, who is the youngest known person in England to have been charged in connection with widespread disorder in UK cities earlier this summer, has been given a 12-month a referral order.

The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, appeared at Liverpool youth court on Tuesday afternoon.

The boy was also given a three-month curfew – between 9pm and 7am – while his father was given a six-month parenting order and ordered to pay £200, on the boy’s behalf, in compensation to the mosque at the heart of the disorder.

The boy had previously pleaded guilty to violent disorder after being involved in rioting in Southport, which broke out after a knife attack in the Merseyside town in which three girls were killed.

The boy, from Southport, was caught on CCTV throwing an object at police officers during the disorder on 30 July, before riding off on a bicycle.

The court heard that he lived near to the scene of the violence and had been out riding his bike with a friend at about 8.30pm when he became involved in the fracas.

He had thrown two stones in the direction of the police, the court heard. Judge Wendy Lloyd said she accepted that these had not caused injury to anyone, but she said he had joined an “angry group of people” and that he “must have known straight away” that doing so “was wrong”.

In a statement read to the court, the chief constable of Merseyside police, Serena Kennedy, said “the level of aggression that I witnessed, that was directed at my officers”, including on the night in question, was “unprecedented”.

“It was horrifying to see,” she added.

The court heard that the boy handed himself in to Merseyside police after his mother recognised him when the force circulated images of people they wanted to speak to in connection with riots in the area.

Prosecuting, Angela Conlan played footage of the violence to the court. She also read statements from a police officer who was injured during the Southport incident and a mosque leader who was trapped inside with worshippers when the building was targeted by a mob.

“It was like being under attack in a war,” the mosque leader said. “I was very scared and worried.”

When smoke from fires that had been deliberately started during the violence came in through the mosque windows, he said he thought “if we do not get killed by the crowd, we’re going to die by smoke inhalation from the fire”.

“I am so drained by what has happened,” he said. “I’ve tried to keep going and be available to the community.”

Defending, Heather Toohey said the defendant had no previous convictions and had shown remorse for his actions.

The court also heard that the boy had not attempted to conceal his identity, nor had he gone to the area specifically with the intention to cause trouble.

While many adult rioters said they had become “caught up” in incidents of violence, Toohey said that “when you’re a young man, when you’re 12 years old, getting caught up in spontaneous acts is much more understandable, much more believable”.

Passing sentence, Lloyd told the boy: “You have had a complicated and in many ways sad young life.” She said that despite being 12, he had suffered problems with alcohol, which she described as “extremely concerning”.

“What you did that night was very wrong,” she said. “It really was a horrible situation, and you made it all the more horrible by joining in and throwing stones.”

He is a few months younger than another 12-year-old boy who was sentenced earlier this month in connection with rioting days later in Manchester.

The second boy had pleaded guilty to violent disorder after being involved in two separate incidents of rioting over two days in the city centre. He was sentenced to a 12-month intensive referral order at Manchester youth court on 11 September.

His mother, who had been in Ibiza on the date of his original sentencing hearing, which was then adjourned, was ordered to pay £300 each in compensation to four victims who provided statements to the court.