Man jailed for taking part in Rotherham hotel riot dies in prison

A man who was jailed for taking part in the far-right rioting which swept across the UK this summer has died in prison.

Peter Lynch, a 61-year-old grandfather, was serving a two-year sentence after admitting to violent disorder and abusing police outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on August 4.

He shouted ‘racist and provocative remarks’ towards officers and called asylum seekers in the hotel ‘child killers’, Sheffield Crown Court heard at his sentencing.

Lynch died in custody at HMP Moorland in Doncaster on Saturday. He had been jailed on August 22 after pleading guilty to violent disorder.

A spokesperson for the Prison Service said the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate the death.

Lynch had gone to the hotel to protest against immigration, holding up a placard which accused groups like MPs, police chiefs, the media and the civil service of corruption.

He had ‘a general conspiracy theory against anyone and any form of authority’ and also referenced the ‘deep state’ and space agency Nasa on the placard.

Body-worn camera footage was shown to the court of him screaming ‘you are protecting people who are killing our kids and raping them’ and ‘scum’ at police with riot shields.

During the rioting, crowds of people were seen throwing bricks and chairs at officers, while damaging the hotel building with graffiti and even setting it alight.

Terrified residents at the hotel were seen watching through windows on the upper floors.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the violence at the time, saying: ‘The criminal, violent attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham is utterly appalling.

‘Deliberately setting fire to a building with people known to be inside.’

The Premier Inn disorder was just one of dozens of riots which swept the country following the death of three girls at a dance class in Southport.

Others sent to prison for their roles in the Premier Inn unrest included painter and decorator Thomas Birley, who helped to set a fire outside the hotel. He was handed a nine year sentence.

And a 13-year-old girl, who could not be named for legal reasons, admitted to unlawful violence outside the hotel.

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