A U.K. judge sentenced Jordan Parlour, a 28-year-old from outside Leeds, to 20 months in prison on Friday. Parlour was convicted for inciting violence against the Britannia hotel, which housed migrants.
Parlour had posted a message on Facebook urging his friends to “smash [the] f— out of Britannia hotel,” according to reports by the BBC. Guy Kearl, the judge, emphasized that 210 people, including refugees and asylum seekers, were being housed at the hotel. The hotel had been the target of many attacks, including window breaking by protesters, before the incident.
Kearl underlined how serious the crime was, noting that Parlour’s guilty plea resulted in a reduction in the sentence from the original five years. The appeal concerned publishing derogatory and threatening content meant to stir up racial animosity.
Nick Price, Director of Legal Services at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), stated, “I want to be absolutely clear, anyone involved in inciting this thuggish behavior will face severe consequences.”
The Britannia hotel riots were connected to baseless allegations that an immigrant was behind a recent incident in northwest England that claimed three lives. These allegations sparked protests throughout the United Kingdom, during which some demonstrators resorted to violent tactics including setting cars on fire and fighting with police.
Tyler Kay, a 26-year-old Northampton resident, was also given a term of more than three years in jail after Parlour was sentenced. Kay had posted something on X, the former Twitter, calling for violence against immigrant-housing hotels. One day after the social media post, Rosemary Ainslie, Acting Head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said that Kay’s quick conviction showed how quickly incitement of this kind can be dealt with.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer had instructed courts to expedite cases like Kay’s to deter further far-right extremism. Ainslie added, “Kay wrote about setting fire to hotels and amplified posts advocating action against immigration solicitors—this online behavior will not be tolerated.”
