A man who punched a police officer in the face during far-right riots in Southport has been jailed for three years.
Derek Drummond, 58, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker during riots in the Merseyside town the day after three young girls were killed in a knife attack.
Drummond, who is from Southport, was accused of punching officer Thomas Ball and shouting ‘s***houses’ at them during the violence outside Southport mosque, the Guardian reports.
The officer was left with injuries including cuts and bruises to his arms.
Drummond was one of three men to be jailed for their involvement in the violent disorder.
Declan Geiran, 29, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for violent disorder and arson, along with an unrelated count of malicious communications, whilst Liam Riley, 40, was jailed for 20 months for violent disorder and racially aggravated harassment.
In a statement, the Crown Prosecution Service said the actions of the three men would have “caused panic, revulsion and chaos in their local communities.”
It continued: “The three men sentenced today are the tip of the iceberg, and just the start of what will be a very painful process for many who foolishly chose to involve themselves in violent unrest. Many of those involved will be sent to prison for a long time.”
Last month, Extinction Rebellion co-founder Roger Hallam, 58, was jailed for five years after being found guilty of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance for his involvement in a protest that disrupted the M25 in London for more than four days in 2022.
Cressida Gethin, 22, Daniel Shaw, 38, Lucia Whittaker de Abreu, 35, and Louise Lancaster, 58, were jailed for four years over the demonstration, which saw 45 people climb on to gantries over the motorway.
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