Police chief says riot response was 'insufficient'

South Yorkshire's police chief has paid tribute to the "superhuman" efforts of her officers during the summer riots but said with hindsight she would have "done things differently".

More than 60 officers were injured when violence broke out at a hotel being used to house asylum seekers in Manvers, near Rotherham, on 4 August.

Speaking at the Commons Home Affairs Committee, Chief Constable Laura Poultney said the force had believed it was due to be a peaceful protest but when trouble flared it had become "apparent very quickly" the number of officers present was "insufficient".

She told MPs: "Knowing what we know now, of course there are things we would have done differently."

Ms Poultney was one of four chief constable to speak to the committee on Tuesday about their response to the rioting that took place across the UK in the wake of the deaths of three girls in Southport.

She spoke about how officers faced "significant risk" while dealing with the disorder in Manvers, where rioters stormed the hotel, set fires and pelted police with missiles.

During the meeting Jake Richards, Labour MP for Rother Valley, asked whether the force should have sent more officers to the area given events in other cities in the days before.

In response, Ms Poultney said: "Based on what we knew at the time, those that devised the command structure were confident that it was the right level, but of course knowing what we know now, there are things we would consider and do differently."

She said police intelligence initially suggested "it would be a peaceful protest and that is what all the social media we saw suggested it as well".

However, she told the committee: "It became apparent very quickly, as the events escalated, that this would be insufficient to maintain safety at the location and our absolute priority was to protect life and preserve the life of people there and people inside the hotel."

She went on to say that officers had ended up carrying out "some really long, hard hours and they were at significant risk from people who were intent on causing harm to them".

She added: "But, there were some incredibly acts of bravery that day, I'm incredibly proud of the police officers' work that they did and there was some superhuman effort by them."

More than 60 men have been jailed so far for their parts in the disorder outside the hotel, with more than 400 people also being sentenced elsewhere in the country.

The longest jail sentence was nine years, which was handed to Thomas Birley, 27, of Swinton, in South Yorkshire, after he pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life, violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon, for his actions as part of the mob at the hotel.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.