Men jailed for violent disorder in Whitehall

A tree surgeon has been jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to violent disorder in Whitehall in London last month.

Bradley Halton, 28, of Hounslow, west London, was filmed chanting and shouting racist remarks at police officers during the unrest on 31 July.

Footage played at Inner London Crown Court showed the defendant wearing his t-shirt wrapped around his head and wearing a surgical mask.

He was arrested on 11 August and charged with violent disorder and racially or religiously aggravated harassment.

Judge Vanessa Baraitser described Halton's comments as "racist" and "profoundly offensive".

She told him: "Those who engage in such violence can expect to receive serious sentences to punish and deter people from taking part in similar behaviour."

Halton, who could be seen wiping away tears in the dock at the mention of his son, is the latest person to be sent to prison for violent behaviour in Whitehall on 31 July.

Alfie Arrowsmith, 28, was also jailed for 16 months having previously pleaded guilty to one charge of violent disorder. He was filmed repeatedly confronting police before being forced back by an officer.

The roofer, who had been working as a traffic manager at the Ritz Hotel on the day of the protest, wept in the dock as the footage was played to the court.

Defence barrister Stephen Nelson told Inner London Crown Court that Arrowsmith had no previous convictions and was a carer for his mother.

David Notley, 67, of Buckhurst Hill, Epping Forest, was sentenced to 20 months in prison at the same court on Monday, after pleading guilty to violent disorder and causing religiously aggravated distress.

The court heard Notley made his way to the front of the crowd and confronted police in a "fighting pose", surging back and forth.

Kelly Wildego, 41, from Greenwich, south-east London, was handed a four-month suspended sentence on Monday after she charged and swore at police officers during the demonstration in Whitehall.

Inner London Crown Court heard she had thrown foul-mouthed abuse at the police and rushed towards them "without explanation" after most of the violence had subsided at about 20:45 BST.

She was given the suspended sentence for assaulting an emergency worker because she is a full-time carer for her son.

Hundreds of people have so far been charged over unrest that broke out after three girls were stabbed at a holiday club in Southport on 29 July, apparently fuelled by false information spread about the alleged killer on social media.

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