British man jailed for 9 years for arson at hotel housing asylum seekers during anti-Muslim riots

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) — A British man was sentenced to nine years on Friday for setting fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers during violent anti-Muslim riots in northern England, marking the harshest sentence yet in connection to the recent wave of disorder.

According to British media reports, Thomas Birley, 27, pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life after he fueled a fire in a bin placed by an entrance to the hotel near Rotherham on Aug. 4.

At the time, staff and asylum seekers were inside the building, which was being used to temporarily host migrants.

Birley also pleaded guilty to charges of violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon.

The riots that led to the attack on the hotel followed the killings of three young girls in Southport on July 29, an event that ignited a wave of unrest fueled by misinformation.

Initial claims falsely linked the killings to a Muslim migrant, sparking anger and protests across the country. Axel Rudakubana, 18, who was born in Cardiff, has been charged in connection with the killings.

Judge Jeremy Richardson, presiding over the case, described Birley's actions as "suffused with racism from beginning to end." He condemned the attack as part of a larger atmosphere of racial hostility stoked by false online claims.

The violence involved arson, looting, and racist attacks, with around 400 people targeting the Rotherham hotel during the days of disorder.

Birley's sentencing is the most severe punishment handed down so far in connection to the unrest, with officials warning that further prosecutions are likely to follow as investigations continue.