A senior judge has slammed the “twisted ideology” behind racist mobs of rioters who were egged on by “complete nonsense” being spread online about the murders of three young girls at a dance class in Southport. Judge Andrew Menary KC, the Recorder of Liverpool, has now jailed five men who joined “baying mobs” in Southport and Liverpool during widespread disorder over the last week. Violence first broke out in the wake of a stabbing spree at a Stockport dance class which left three young girls dead, as misinformation spread online that the suspected attacker was an illegal immigrant and asylum seeker. Judge Menary said legitimate vigils and the local community’s grief had been “hijacked” by racists intent on violence, while police officers who joined a vigil to mourn the dead girls found themselves within hours under attack from so-called protesters. And in a damning assessment of those behind the violence, Judge Menary said: “Quite what they were protesting about remains a mystery to many.”On Wednesday, the judge sentenced Derek Drummond, 58, to three years in prison for punching a police officer in the face and throwing a brick at officers. On Thursday, Judge Menary sentenced William Nelson Morgan, 69, to two years and eight months after he armed himself with a cosh during the violence, while John O’Malley, 43, received the same sentence for being part of a mob pelting police with missiles.
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00:00Dealing firstly with you John O'Malley. You're 43 years of age now and you were
00:07present from an early stage at the disturbance on St Luke's Road in
00:11Southport. There is very clear footage showing the developing disorder and you
00:19were at the front of what was essentially a baying mob. You were part
00:24of a surge that broke through police lines and you were standing next to the
00:28police vehicle that was being destroyed. You were present while missiles of every
00:34description were raining down on the officers including bricks, traffic cones,
00:39wheelie bins, road signs, tins of paint and the occasional firework. Dealing next
00:46with you William Nelson Morgan. You are 69 years of age now but your advancing
00:52years plainly did not prevent you from playing an active part at the disturbance
00:58on County Road. You were a part of a crowd of about a hundred people who were
01:04running amok, setting fire to bins and damaging local property including a
01:11community hub and library which contained a food bank and provided an
01:17important resource for the people living in that area. The sentences that I am
01:23about to impose have been reduced by one third to reflect your pleas of
01:27guilty and you will both serve up to one half of those sentences in custody
01:34before you are released on license. If you fail to abide by the conditions of
01:39your licenses you can be returned to serve some or all of the remainder of
01:44those sentences. Will you both now stand up? In your case John O'Malley for the
01:51offence of violent disorder the sentence is 32 months imprisonment. In
01:56your case William Nelson Morgan for the offence of violent disorder the sentence
02:01is also 32 months imprisonment. That sentence intended to reflect that
02:07offence and the associated offence of possessing an offensive weapon. For the
02:12associated offence there will be a concurrent sentence of six months
02:16imprisonment reflecting as I have the principle of totality. The total sentence
02:22is therefore one of 32 months imprisonment in your case. Because of
02:28your possession of the weapon I am also satisfied that it is necessary to make a
02:32serious violence reduction order to protect the public from future harm. It
02:37will last for a period of two years and will not take effect until you are
02:42released from custody. Those are the sentences of this court. You may now both
02:48go with the officers.