Thomas Birley, 27, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in a violent attack on the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, a hotel housing nearly 200 asylum seekers. Birley pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life, violent disorder, and possession of an offensive weapon for the events that took place on August 4.

Sheffield Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of Birley wearing a black hooded coat and a red mask, adding wood to a fire that had been ignited in a bin near one of the hotel’s doors. Birley was also part of a group responsible for smashing the windows of the hotel.

Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, who presided over the case, described it as “unquestionably one of the worst” to come before the court. He noted the event was “inflicted with the venom of racism” and said Birley demonstrated a “desire to perpetrate mob rule and commit very serious criminal offences in the process.”

During the incident, Birley threw a bin at riot police and brandished a police baton. Hotel staff, fearing for their lives, barricaded themselves in a panic room between fridges and freezers. Paul Coulson, the maintenance manager, testified that staff were “scared to death” and could smell smoke, fearing they might “burn to death.

Birley’s defense barrister, Dermot Hughes, stated that his client, a former painter and decorator, was “appalled” by his actions and expressed “heartfelt remorse.”

In addition to the nine-year sentence, Birley will serve an extended period of five years on licence after his release. This sentence represents the longest handed down in relation to the disorder at the asylum seeker hotel.