Latest news with #JosephHaythorne
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Engineer who told followers 'burn any hotels' in social media post after Southport killings is jailed
An engineer who posted 'burn any hotels with those scruffy b*****ds in it' on social media during last summer's riots has been jailed for 15 months. Joseph Haythorne, 26, posted the comment on X at lunchtime on August 4 last year, just as violence erupted outside a hotel housing asylum seekers near Rotherham. More than 60 officers were injured in the violence in the South Yorkshire town that afternoon as hundreds of people bombarded police and the hotel with missiles. At one point rioters set fire to a bin against a fire door of the Holiday Inn Express hotel, which had 240 asylum seekers inside as well as more than 20 staff. Sheffield Crown Court heard yesterday that Haythorne's post from an anonymised account was viewed by 1,100 people in 17 minutes before he deleted it. The message by Haythorne, from Ashford in Surrey, had also included a link to a now-deleted post by activist Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. The defendant's full post read: 'Go on Rotherham. Burn any hotels with them scruffy b*****ds in it.' It came amid a wave of violent disorder in the UK after the Southport stabbings which saw three girls murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July 2024. Prosecutors said Haythorne's case had some similarities with that of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed last October for 31 months after she posted on X: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I care... if that makes me racist so be it.' Connolly, the wife of a former Conservative councillor, is now partway through her sentence and had a bid to reduce it dismissed at the Court of Appeal in May. Speaking about Haythorne following his sentencing, Connolly's husband Ray Connolly told The Telegraph: 'He can thank his lucky stars his partner isn't a Tory councillor.' Shadow home secretary Chris Philp added: 'There are a lot of inconsistencies in sentencing. A rapist recently received only 28 months and the Attorney General, Lord Hermer, refused to allow that sentence to be reviewed. 'It cannot be right that Lucy Connolly got a longer sentence for a tweet than someone convicted of rape.' And Lord Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, told the newspaper: 'No one should be sent to prison for a tweet. This is not a good use of valuable prison spaces that should be kept for thieves, muggers, stabbers and drug dealers.' In court yesterday, Bianca Brasoveanu, defending Haythorne, said he 'made a wrongful connection between the Southport events and immigration in general' after reading a 'poisonous' post online. She told the court the case was different to that of Connolly, whose post was live for hours and an investigation into her social media 'revealed other posts including further racist remarks'. Ms Brasoveanu said: 'None of this was present within Mr Haythorne's social media. The defendant is more interested in football than anything else.' She added that Haythorne 'displayed a very different way of behaviour' by deleting the post after 17 minutes and handing himself in at a police station. The barrister said the defendant has problems around depression which would make him vulnerable in prison as his symptoms could worsen. Judge Jeremy Richardson KC called the defendant's post 'vile'. The judge said Haythorne had been distressed by comments online about the 'dreadful events in Southport', adding that there had been 'an awful lot of malicious and malignant nonsense on the internet'. He reduced the sentence after considering the defendant's clinical depression, his guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and personal mitigation. But Judge Richardson was sure that immediate custody was necessary due to the seriousness of the offence and he jailed Haythorne for 15 months. He said: 'It gives me no pleasure whatsoever in sending someone like you to prison because you have many positive attributes in life. 'But unfortunately, in that whole episode in August of last year, whilst there were some very bad people conducting themselves very badly, there were also a number of otherwise perfectly good people who did something very bad, and you are in that category.' Earlier yesterday, before adjourning to consider his sentence, the judge said Haythorne 'took leave of his senses' after being 'inflamed by malignant comments on social media' and made the post 'just as the incident at Rotherham was taking off in a very unpleasant fashion'. He read the defendant's post about burning hotels and told him: 'Within one and a half to two hours, that is exactly what happened.' Haythorne had been due to be sentenced last week but his original conviction was quashed when it emerged that the offence he was charged with - publishing material intended to stir up racial hatred - requires permission from the Attorney General before charges can be brought, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had not sought permission due to an 'oversight'. His case was sent back to magistrates' court, where he pleaded guilty to the charge for a second time.
Telegraph
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Engineer given half Lucy Connolly's sentence for near-identical tweet
A two-tier justice row has erupted after an engineer was jailed for half as long as Lucy Connolly over a near-identical tweet. Joseph Haythorne, 26, posted 'Go on Rotherham burn any hotels with those scruffy b------- in it' on Aug 4 2024, just as violence erupted in the South Yorkshire town. The engineer from Surrey, who admitted inciting racial hatred, was jailed for 15 months when he appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday. Critics branded the sentence a 'clear example of two-tier justice'. His jail term is less than half the 31 months handed down to Connolly - a mother of one who is married to a Conservative councillor. She was jailed in October last year, after posting online, on the day of the Southport murders, a message that read: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f---ing hotels full of the b------s for all I care, while you're at it take the treacherous government politicians with them.' The 42-year-old, who lost a child of her own in tragic circumstances, deleted the post fewer than four hours later, but not before it had been viewed 310,000 times. Her husband, Ray Connolly told the Telegraph: 'He can thank his lucky stars his partner isn't a Tory councillor.' Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary said: 'There are a lot of inconsistencies in sentencing. A rapist recently received only 28 months and Attorney General, Lord Hermer refused to allow that sentence to be reviewed. 'It cannot be right that Lucy Connolly got a longer sentence for a tweet than someone convicted of rape.' Speaking about the sentence handed to Haythorne, Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, said: 'Another ludicrous jail sentence. Fifteen months for a nasty offensive tweet lasting 17 minutes. 'On this basis, if justice is consistent [and] not two tier, then Bob Vylan could face being jailed for over five years for his vile singing at Glastonbury.' Lord Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said: 'This is not a good use of valuable prison spaces that should be kept for thieves, muggers, stabbers and drug dealers. 'How can it be right that a Labour MP who repeatedly punched a constituent, knocking him to the ground, received a suspended sentence, but a 26 year-old should be jailed for 15 months for one ill-advised tweet? 'It's a clear example of two-tier justice and risks undermining public confidence in our criminal justice system.' Haythorne's tweet was posted just an hour and a half before violence erupted outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham. More than 60 police officers were hurt and rioters also set fire to a bin and pushed it towards the hotel which had more than 250 people inside. Sheffield Crown Court heard that his post, from an anonymous account, was viewed by 1,100 people in 17 minutes before he deleted it. He subsequently handed himself into police. Prosecutors said the case did have some similarities with that of Connolly with the judge, Jeremy Richardson KC described the comment as 'vile'. But he chose to significantly reduce his sentence after hearing Haythorne suffered from clinical depression. He also gave him credit for his guilty plea and other personal mitigation. The judge said: 'It gives me no pleasure whatsoever in sending someone like you to prison because you have many positive attributes in life. 'But unfortunately, in that whole episode in August of last year, whilst there were some very bad people conducting themselves very badly, there were also a number of otherwise perfectly good people who did something very bad, and you are in that category.' In May, Connolly asked the Court of Appeal to reduce her sentence but her application was refused with three judges saying they did not believe 31 months was excessive. Her husband, who has been looking after their 12-year-old daughter, described the decision as 'shocking and unfair' and said it was an example of 'two-tier justice'. He said: 'Lucy got more time in jail for one tweet than some paedophiles and domestic abusers get. I think the system wanted to make an example of Lucy so other people would be scared to say things about immigration. This is not the British way.'
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- The Guardian
Surrey engineer jailed for 15 months for ‘vile' post after Southport murders
An engineer who posted 'burn any hotels with those scruffy bastards in it' online as violence erupted outside a hotel housing asylum seekers has been jailed for 15 months. Joseph Haythorne, 26, from Ashford in Surrey, posted the comment on X, formerly known as Twitter, at lunchtime on 4 August last year, just as violence was breaking out near Rotherham, South Yorkshire. During the violence, rioters set fire to a bin against a door of the hotel, which housed 240 asylum seekers, and also had more than 20 staff inside. More than 60 police officers were injured that afternoon as hundreds of people threw missiles at the hotel and police outside it. Sheffield crown court heard that Haythorne's post from an anonymised account, which was viewed by 1,100 people in 17 minutes before he deleted it, included a link to a now-deleted post by activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson. He later handed himself in at a police station, the court heard. 'Go on Rotherham. Burn any hotels with them scruffy bastards in it,' his full post read. Prosecutors said the case had some similarities with the case of Northampton childminder Lucy Connolly, who was jailed last year for 31 months after she posted on X: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the fucking hotels full of the bastards for all I care... if that makes me racist so be it.' Bianca Brasoveanu, defending Haythorne, said he 'made a wrongful connection between the Southport events and immigration in general' after reading a 'poisonous' post online, and said his case was different from that of Connolly, whose post was live for hours and an investigation into her social media 'revealed other posts including further racist remarks'. 'None of this was present within Mr Haythorne's social media. The defendant is more interested in football than anything else,' Brasoveanu said. Jailing Haythorne for 15 months, Judge Richardson KC said the post was 'vile'. The judge said Haythorne had been distressed by comments online about the 'dreadful events in Southport', adding that there had been 'an awful lot of malicious and malignant nonsense on the internet'. He reduced the sentence after considering the defendant's clinical depression, his guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and personal mitigation, but said immediate custody was necessary due to the seriousness of the offence. 'It gives me no pleasure whatsoever in sending someone like you to prison because you have many positive attributes in life,' he said. 'But unfortunately, in that whole episode in August of last year, whilst there were some very bad people conducting themselves very badly, there were also a number of otherwise perfectly good people who did something very bad, and you are in that category.' Haythorne had been due to be sentenced last week but his original conviction was quashed when it emerged that the offence he was charged with – publishing material intended to stir up racial hatred – requires permission from the attorney general before charges can be brought, and the Crown Prosecution Service had not sought permission due to an 'oversight'. He pleaded guilty to the charge for a second time after his case was sent back to the magistrates court.
The Independent
02-07-2025
- The Independent
Man jailed for 15 months after ‘burn hotels' social media post during riots
An engineer who posted 'burn any hotels with those scruffy bastards in it' on social media during last summer's riots has been jailed for 15 months. Joseph Haythorne, 26, posted the comment on X, formerly Twitter, at lunchtime on August 4 2024, just as violence erupted outside a hotel housing asylum seekers near Rotherham, South Yorkshire. More than 60 officers were injured in the violence that afternoon as hundreds of people bombarded police and the hotel with missiles. At one point rioters set fire to a bin against a fire door of the hotel, which had 240 asylum seekers inside as well as more than 20 staff. Sheffield Crown Court heard that Haythorne's post from an anonymised account, which was viewed by 1,100 people in 17 minutes before he deleted it, included a link to a now-deleted post by activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson. The defendant's full post read: 'Go on Rotherham. Burn any hotels with them scruffy bastards in it.' Prosecutors said the case had some similarities with the case of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed last year for 31 months after she posted on X: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I care… if that makes me racist so be it.' Bianca Brasoveanu, defending Haythorne, said he 'made a wrongful connection between the Southport events and immigration in general' after reading a 'poisonous' post online. She told the court the case was different to that of Connolly, whose post was live for hours and an investigation into her social media 'revealed other posts including further racist remarks'. 'None of this was present within Mr Haythorne's social media. The defendant is more interested in football than anything else,' Ms Brasoveanu said. She said Haythorne, who is from Ashford in Surrey, had 'displayed a very different way of behaviour' by deleting the post after 17 minutes and handing himself in at a police station. The barrister said the defendant has problems around depression which would make him vulnerable in prison as his symptoms could worsen. Judge Jeremy Richardson KC called the defendant's post 'vile'. The judge said Haythorne had been distressed by comments online about the 'dreadful events in Southport', adding that there had been 'an awful lot of malicious and malignant nonsense on the internet'. He reduced the sentence after considering the defendant's clinical depression, his guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and personal mitigation. But Judge Richardson was sure that immediate custody was necessary due to the seriousness of the offence and he jailed Haythorne for 15 months. He said: 'It gives me no pleasure whatsoever in sending someone like you to prison because you have many positive attributes in life. 'But unfortunately, in that whole episode in August of last year, whilst there were some very bad people conducting themselves very badly, there were also a number of otherwise perfectly good people who did something very bad, and you are in that category.' Earlier on Wednesday, before adjourning to consider his sentence, the judge said Haythorne 'took leave of his senses' after being 'inflamed by malignant comments on social media' and made the post 'just as the incident at Rotherham was taking off in a very unpleasant fashion'. He read the defendant's post about burning hotels and told him: 'Within one and a half to two hours, that is exactly what happened.' Haythorne had been due to be sentenced last week but his original conviction was quashed when it emerged that the offence he was charged with – publishing material intended to stir up racial hatred – requires permission from the Attorney General before charges can be brought, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had not sought permission due to an 'oversight'. His case was sent back to magistrates' court, where he pleaded guilty to the charge for a second time.
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Man jailed for 'burn down hotels' online post during Manvers riot
A man who called for hotels housing asylum seekers to be burned down during unrest at an anti-immigration demonstration has been Crown Court heard how Joseph Haythorne wrote on X on 4 August just as a protest outside the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, began to turn post, which was viewed by 1,100 people, said: "Go on Rotherham, burn any hotels [with asylum seekers]", before it was deleted 17 minutes Wednesday, Haythorne, 26, an air conditioning engineer from Ashford, Surrey, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment after admitting publishing material intended to stir up racial hatred at a previous hearing. This was the first case of its kind in relation to the Manvers riot brought before the courts in post was sent from an anonymised account and included a link to a post - which was later deleted - by activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy court heard the defendant had read inaccurate reports on social media about the Southport murders which then inflamed him to Brasoveanu, mitigating, said her client accepted he had made a "wrong connection" between the attack and "immigration in general"."He realised within that short lapse of time how wrong, damaging and bad those words were," Ms Brasoveanu told the court."His regret and remorse are echoed by the fact that he's pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity."Ms Brasoveanu said Haythorne suffered with his mental health, which had affected his reaction to posts about the Southport attacks. 'Sensitive and volatile time' The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, accepted the defendant's vulnerabilities had had an impact but told him: "You knew what you were doing and you knew it was wrong."He said the facts of the case were so serious, only an immediate custodial sentence was justified."What you encouraged is exactly what happened: The hotel was the subject of a fire attack approximately an hour-and-a-half after you placed the post online," he said."It was a particular sensitive and volatile time and you full well knew that a hotel was the subject matter of a protest that afternoon." Haythorne's sentencing hearing had previously been delayed due to the Crown Prosecution Service not seeking the necessary permission from the Attorney General to bring the original conviction was quashed and the process started again with the case brought back for sentencing on Wednesday following Haythorne's renewed guilty Richardson stated that due to "the conflicting issues in this case", he would explain the full reasons for the sentence during a hearing next week, but added that he did not believe it was fair to make the defendant wait any longer to learn what it would be. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
