Armchair thug is first to be convicted for Facebook posts trying to stir up racial hatred during riots: ‘Family man’, 28, faces jail after urging mob to ‘smash the f**k’ out of migrant hotel while sat at home with broken heel

An armchair thug who urged far-right yobs to ‘smash the f**k’ out of a hotel housing asylum seekers was today locked up pending his sentencing. 

Jordan Parlour, a 28-year-old sign installer described by his lawyer as a ‘family man’, is the first man to be charged over Facebook posts relating to the violent disorder across the UK.

Parlour – who was unable to take to the streets for violence because he had broken his heel – instead turned to social media to incite protesters to target the Britannia Hotel in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

The hotel, in the Seacroft area of the city and close to Parlour’s home, had been attacked with rocks and a window had been broken – though it was not the scene of mass violence.

Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions has said that terror legislation is already being used in relation to one rioting case meaning other instances of public disorder could be treated similarly. 

Yesterday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper yesterday hit out at ‘armchair thugs’ such as Tommy Robinson, who have been fanning the flames of tension online.

One man – 19-year-old James Nelson – has already been charged, as he was jailed for two months after pleading guilty to causing criminal damage.

Parlour attempted to stir up racial hatred with posts on Facebook using his mobile phone between August 1 and 5. 

One post read: ‘Every man and his dog should smash the f**k out of the Britannia Hotel.’ In a second, he stated: ‘Cos they are over here living the life of Reilly, off the tax you hard working people earn, when it could be put to better use.’

It comes as:

Applying for bail for his client, Anjum Nazir, told the court that Parlour has not been before the courts for 13 years, when he offended as a youth.

Mr Nazir told District Judge Tim Capstick that Parlour is a ‘family man’ who lives with his elderly parents and also with his girlfriend and her four children by a different man.

Parlour gave a ‘full account’ in his police interview and handed over his mobile phone and the access pin to officers, said Mr Nazir.

‘He made the comments out of anger and frustration and deeply regrets what he posted on Facebook,’ he said.

‘It was not his intention to stir up racial hatred, but accepted that it could be viewed as reckless.’

Parlour told police that he had no intention of causing damage to the Britannia Hotel.

The court heard he had been in custody since he was arrested by police at 5am on Monday morning from his girlfriend’s home.

Mr Nazir told the court that Parlour had been a full time sign installer but had been off sick for nine weeks after falling from a balcony at work and breaking his left heel. He still has mobility issues.

Judge Capstick refused Parlour bail and committed him for sentence at Leeds Crown Court on Friday 9 August, where a judge can jail him for more than 12 months.

The judge told Parlour: ‘You understand that the matter will have to be sent to crown court.

‘In my view you are going to receive an immediate custodial sentence given the nature of the offence and the background and the background climate it was committed against.’

He said that if he granted Parlour bail there would be ‘substantial grounds to believe that would not go to court on Friday,’ and ‘you might get frustrated, angry and upset again.’

Earlier today, Joe MacKenzie, a 28-year-old from Darlington who works for his father’s kitchen fitting business, dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief as he was told he would be remanded in custody for his alleged part in Sunday’s rioting in Middlesbrough.

MacKenzie is accused of being among around 20 men wearing balaclavas and face coverings who clashed with police. Magistrates in Teesside heard he yelled ‘We are taking over, I f***ing hate you c***s’ at police while swigging from a can of lager. 

Elsewhere, Dylan Carey, of Hindley in Greater Manchester, blew a kiss at a woman from the dock at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court as he pleaded guilty to violent disorder. 

Footage played to the court showed the 26-year-old kicking a police van and throwing an object towards it. He had been part of a ‘hostile’ crowd who surged at police while chanting ‘who the f*** is Allah’ outside a mosque in Southport last Tuesday. 

Moments before, he had laid flowers at a vigil for the three girls who died in a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed party in the seaside town. 

The subsequent unrest across Britain has been fuelled by misinformation online that the teenage murder suspect was a Muslim refugee who had travelled to the UK on a small boat.

A 15-year-old boy also pleaded guilty to violent disorder today after he was caught on video throwing a paving slab at a man’s head during riots in Liverpool city centre on Saturday. 

Police are aware of six potential gatherings today and officers are anticipating a busy day on Wednesday as they monitor reports of at least 30 possible gatherings.

Far-right thugs are now plotting attacks on immigration lawyers, with a list of 36 solicitors’ firms, refugee shelters and advice agencies shared on a Telegram group with more than 14,000 alongside a call to attack them at a specific time tomorrow night. 

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – who was himself Director of Public Prosecutions between 2008 and 2013 –  said the criminal justice system has shown a ‘robust and swift response’ in the face of ongoing unrest.

Speaking to reporters after Tuesday’s Cobra meeting, he added that he is expecting ‘substantive sentencing’ for those taking part in the unrest ‘before the end of this week’.

Speaking to reporters inside Downing Street on Tuesday evening, Sir Keir said: ‘Those involved will feel the full force of the law… over 400 people now have been arrested, 100 have been charged – some in relation to online activity – and a number of them are already in court.

‘I’m now expecting substantive sentencing before the end of this week. That should send a very powerful message to anybody involved, either directly or online, that you are likely to be dealt with within a week.

‘Nobody, but nobody, should be involved themselves in this disorder.’

More than 400 people have now been arrested in the wake of seven days worth of disorder. Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said around 100 charges have been laid so far. 

The CPS chief hit out at those who had used the internet for the ‘purposes of incitement and planning’, telling the BBC: ‘If you’re engaged in that activity, then you can be prosecuted for the substantive offence that you have caused (due) to what you’ve been doing using the internet.’

And in a warning to those acting outside the UK, Mr Parkinson said: ‘Some people are abroad. That doesn’t mean they’re safe.

‘We have liaison prosecutors spread around the globe who’ve got local links with the local judiciary and law enforcement, but also the police are also stationed abroad.’

In measures reminiscent of the 2011 London riots, magistrates courts are operating round the clock to process rioters and releasing mugshots of some suspects after they have been charged in an effort to name and shame them. 

More suspected rioters appeared in court today following mass disorder across the country over the past week. 

Self-employed builder Joshua Simpson became the first person to be convicted following the rioting outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham after he admitted assaulting a police officer.

Sheffield Magistrates Court heard how Simpson, 25, was abusive to police before he kicked a riot shield, forcing it back onto an officer’s leg.

The defendant admitted one count of assault of an emergency worker.

He was remanded in custody by deputy district judge Simon Blakebrough who asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared before he is sentenced on August 27.

The judge said he could not rule out sending Simpson, who said he is currently homeless, to prison.

Prosecutor Mark Hughes said: ‘The defendant is said to have approached the line of police shouting ‘f****** w****rs’ and was pushing officers’ shields in an aggressive manner.’

Mr Hughes said Simpson, of no fixed address, kicked Pc Christopher Dixon’s riot shield, pushing it back on to the officer’s leg.

He said Pc Dixon’s protective clothing saved him from injury.

The prosecutor said Simpson was ‘very aggressive’ and had to be restrained by a number of officers. Mr Hughes said Simpson apologised to Pc Dixon once he had calmed down.

The court heard that the defendant, who is currently signed off work due to mental health problems and is effectively homeless, was helping a friend build a shed in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, when he saw what was happening in Rotherham on a video.

He decided to go and see what was happening and arrived alone just after 8pm. The court was told he was ‘greatly remorseful for his actions’.

Simpson was arrested after disorder lasting a number of hours outside the Holiday Inn Express, which was housing a number of asylum seekers.

Deputy District Judge Simon Blakebrough heard that about 500 people were at the incident, with some 100 actively participating in the violence.

Police battled with rioters who, at one point, forced their way into the hotel and set light to a bin at one of the exits.

The judge ordered a pre-sentence report to be prepared but refused to grant Simpson bail before he is sentenced on August 27.

He said the context of the widespread public disorder made the offending ‘significantly more serious’.

He told Simpson: ‘I accept you were not part of the main violent disorder that took place earlier in the day,’ but said the situation was still ‘very tense’ when Simpson arrived.

He added: ‘I don’t rule out any sentence, and that includes immediate custody.’

Another man, Christopher Rodgers, 38, of Barnsley, said ‘what a laugh’ as he was remanded in custody after being charged with violent disorder over the riot in Rotherham. 

The court heard he is accused of being part of a group that was throwing missiles at police and then blocked the way as a line of officers moved forward.

He was bitten by a police dog before he was arrested, the court heard. Rodgers has denied the charge. 

Four others are due in court in connection with the Rotherham disorder.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, a judge in Liverpool told Cary, the man who blew a kiss at a woman in court, that he had a ‘real prospect of a custodial sentence’ due to the ‘serious disorder’ he had been a part of.

Joshua Sanderson-Kirk, prosecuting, said a police attended outside a mosque on St Luke’s Road in Southport when a ‘hostile’ crowd of about 200 people came towards them chanting ‘who the f*** is Allah’.

He said: ‘The crowd became more angry and began surging forward. Several of the crowd were shouting ‘why are you protecting them’.’

Carey, who was identified by officers via footage on social media, kicked a police van and threw something towards it.

The defendant, who has no previous convictions, was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on August 12, with District Judge Timothy Boswell saying: ‘Plainly, given the serious disorder Mr Carey has been a part of, there is a real prospect of an immediate custodial sentence.’.

Also at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court, a 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to violent disorder in the city centre on Saturday after he was identified from a TikTok video.

Footage played in court showed the youth among a crowd of people, becoming involved in a confrontation and taking his jacket and top off.

Mr Sanderson-Kirk said: ‘He picks up a paving slab and throws it at a member of the public.’

The boy, whose mother was in court, was granted bail with a condition not to enter the city centre as his case was adjourned until September 17.

Others are expected to appear in court across the country on Tuesday.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said one man, Jordan Parlour, 28, has been charged with intending to stir up racial hatred relating to alleged posts on Facebook and is due to appear at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.

Cleveland Police said a total of 28 people are due to appear at Teesside Magistrates’ Court charged with violent disorder and other offences following violence in Middlesbrough on Sunday.

The force said the court had set aside a remand court to deal with those appearing on Tuesday.

Among those who was remanded in custody was a man who allegedly shouted profanities and kicked out at police during disorder in Middlesbrough.

Jamie Govan, 26, of Windmill Terrace, Stockton, denied a charge of violent disorder during a hearing at Teesside Magistrates Court.

John Garside, prosecuting, said Govan is accused of shouting: ‘You’re protecting them while they rape and kill kids’, at officers before making ‘come-on gestures’ with his hands’.

The court heard he allegedly swung his arms and kicked his legs out at police who ‘resorted to using leg restraints’.

Govan ‘maintains he did nothing wrong’, a district judge was told.

The defendant was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on August 27.

A teenager banged on the dock glass and shouted when he was remanded in custody over claims he ‘threw missiles’ at police and members of the public while wearing a ski mask during disorder in Middlesbrough.

Kaleb Peacock Lightfoot, 19, of Dixon Grove, Middlesbrough, denied a charge of violent disorder.

The court heard he said he attended ‘what he believed was going to be a peaceful protest’.

Peacock Lightfoot appeared at Teesside Magistrates Court via a video link from South Tyneside Magistrates Court after some of the 28 defendants charged over the Middlesbrough disorder were moved to a second court due to backlogs in dealing with them on Tuesday.

He was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on August 28.

The defendant became visibly distressed when District Judge Marie Mallon said she would not be granting him bail.

A woman who pushed a burning wheelie bin into a row of police officers before falling to the ground and being arrested has pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

Teesside Magistrates Court heard Stacy Vint, 34, and a man were seen pushing the bin, the contents of which were on fire, on Linthorpe Road during unrest in Middlesbrough on Sunday.

Prosecutor John Garside said the pair then shoved the bin at a police line before Vint fell over and was arrested.

She initially gave officers a false name, the court heard. Vint was remanded in custody until her sentencing on August 28.

Elsewhere, eight people have been charged in connection with disturbances that broke out during protests in Nottingham city centre.

Nottinghamshire Police arrested 15 people at a protest in the city’s Old Market Square on Saturday, with one woman and seven men aged between 18 and 46 now charged with a variety of crimes, including public order, weapon offences and assaulting an emergency worker.

Lancashire Police said two men and two teenagers have been charged in connection with disorder in Bolton on Sunday.

Dominic Stanbridge, 31, of Buckshaw, and a 16-year-old boy have been charged with violent disorder while James Nelson, 19, of Horwich, has been charged with criminal damage to property valued under £5,000 and another 16-year-old boy has been charged with being in possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Stanbridge and Nelson have been remanded into custody ahead of an appearance at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court on Tuesday, the force added.

Nelson has since been jailed for two months after pleading guilty to causing criminal damage.

Liam Powell, 28, of Hendon Court, Buckshaw Village, Chorley, also received a 12-month community order after admitting to being in possession of cocaine during the disorder in the Greater Manchester town.

He is thought to be the first person to receive a prison sentence after widespread unrest in relation to the Southport killings. 

Another man, Ashley Harris, 36, of Kingswood, is due in court in Bristol charged in connection with violent disorder in the city centre on Saturday, Avon and Somerset Police said.

The former head of counter-terror policing today likened the worst of the riots to ‘terrorism’ and called a bid to torch a migrant hotel ‘an attempt at a modern day lynching’. 

Neil Basu said thugs who tried to burn down a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham while people were inside should be facing life in jail ‘not a five-year sentence for violent disorder’. 

He said the shocking incident on Sunday was an example of a serious act of violence that was ‘designed to cause terror’ and ‘people should look very carefully’ at the legal definition of terrorism.

Mr Basu, who served as Britain’s leading counter-terror officer from 2018 to 2021, called for long sentences for those guilty of the most serious offences. 

‘Trying to set ablaze a building with people inside, whom you have made clear you detest, is an act of violence against people and property with a racial cause designed to intimidate a section of the public – be it Muslims or asylum seekers,’ he told the Guardian. 

‘Not only does it fit the definition of terrorism, it is terrorism. It’s nothing short of an attempt at a modern day lynching and the people who did it should be facing life imprisonment, not a five-year sentence for violent disorder.’

Mr Basu also called for those organising the violence to face prosecution. 

‘We overestimate the intelligence of thugs. They don’t think about the consequences of their actions until it’s too late, but jail a few and the others will run back under cover. They are bullies and cowards,’ he said. 

Mr Basu has in the past been criticised for controversial interventions, including urging the Metropolitan Police to accept it is still institutionally racist and saying positive discrimination may be necessary.

His call to treat rioters as terrorists contrasted with those by Jonathan Hall KC, the Government’s independent reviewer of terror legislation, who called for caution. 

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I think that you need to be cautious about applying counter-terrorism in effectively a live incident, it could be escalatory. 

‘You’ll end up with finger pointing one group will start saying well if you’re calling these people terrorists, why don’t you call these people terrorists.’

As MailOnline revealed, English Defence League founder Mr Robinson was stoking the race riots with a series of video rants on X while he was on holiday in Cyprus. 

In his own interview with the BBC, Mr Basu said the orgy of violence had been triggered by ‘lies spread through social media’ and ‘we need to do something about that’.

He said there were gaps in the laws relating to hateful extremism that needed to be filled, particularly to stop Robinson ‘glorifying and creating violence from his sunbed in the Mediterranean’. 

Ministers have been locked with a war of words with X owner Elon Musk over his inflammatory comments about the riots. 

Downing Street yesterday rebuked the billionaire for using his platform to claim that ‘civil war is inevitable’ below a video of rioters setting off fireworks at police, with Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman saying there was ‘no justification’ for the comments. 

A few hours later, Mr Musk – the richest man in the world worth over $200billion – criticised Sir Keir directly by responding to a video posted by the PM stressing attacks on mosques and Muslims would not be tolerated.

Mr Musk, who has 193million global followers, replied asking Sir Keir: ‘Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?‘

Justice minister Heidi Alexander has since weighed into the row, calling the mogul’s comments ‘deplorable’. 

Their clashes came as Cabinet ministers blamed social media for allowing hate and fake news to be spread, leading to violent protests by the far-right that have seen migrant hotels and mosques attacked in the wake of the Southport stabbings a week ago.

Last night hundreds of far-right activists and anti-racist protesters came face-to-face in Plymouth, where beer bottles, flares and a crutch were flung through the air, leaving police officers injured.

And in Birmingham a Sky News van was attacked by a knife-wielding man after Muslim people gathered amid claims far-right groups would target the Small Health area.

A group were later filmed attacking a pub, the Clumsy Swan, with Muslim elders later visiting to apologise. 

A GP surgery in Birmingham also closed as hundreds of Muslim people turned out to counter a rumoured far-right gathering. 

Police later said they were probing assault, criminal damage and attacks on cars – but that the far-right mob never materialised. 

Anti-Muslim hate crime charity Tell Mama has urged Muslims to stay at home and ‘not be baited by far-right thugs’.

Police were pelted with bricks last night as violence erupted near a mosque in Darlington, County Durham.

Trouble erupted at 9pm when two groups gathered in North Lodge Park in the town, close to the Jamia Mosque & Islamic Society Of Darlington.

Both Asian and white youths were involved in the violent disorder which saw Durham Constabulary backed up by colleagues from the neighbouring Northumbria and Cleveland forces. One youth was arrested.

Darlington’s newly elected Labour MP Lola McEvoy has condemned the violence, saying Darlington has long embraced its Muslim community and added: ‘Everyone who lives here must be allowed to live their lives happily and in peace.’

Disorder also continued last night in areas of Belfast. 

The Police Service of Northern has said its officers came under sustained attack from multiple petrol bombs, heavy masonry and bricks in the south of the city. 

Today Ms Alexander vowed there were sufficient prison spaces available to accommodate riot thugs.   

‘We will make sure that anyone who is given a custodial sentence as a result of the riots and disorder, there will be a prison place waiting for them,’ she warned on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The minister said some 567 additional spaces would soon come into use.

Extra cells at HMP Stocken, Rutland, will be in use from ‘next week’, she said, with plans also in place to use space at Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution in Kent for adult prisoners.

She also revealed more detail about the planned ‘standing army’ of police officers Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on Monday afternoon.

Ms Alexander told Times Radio: ‘These are police officers who have had specialist training in dealing with public order offences.

‘We had 4,000 available at the weekend. There will be another 2,000 available this week. It also means that police officers are able to be deployed in parts of the country where they are needed most.’

Elsewhere, she said courts ‘could possibly’ begin sitting ‘through the evening, the night, at weekends’ in order to swiftly prosecute rioters.

The additional courts protocol, which was created in the aftermath of the 2011 riots, could be invoked in areas where police and prosecuting chiefs feel it is needed, the minister also told LBC.

The courts are now ‘willing to consider any of those requests’, according to Ms Alexander.

Funding will also not be a barrier to a strong police response to disorder, the Home Secretary has said.

In a call on Tuesday, Yvette Cooper told chief constables their forces would receive support for overtime pay and any other resources they required when dealing with public disorder.

She said: ‘The police have my unwavering commitment to ensure they have everything they need to mobilise a strong frontline response across the country to put a stop to the appalling displays of violence and criminal damage we have seen in some of our towns and cities.

‘Criminals should expect to pay the price for violent thuggery and disorder on our streets.

‘Keyboard warriors also cannot hide, as criminal organisation and incitement online will be liable for prosecution and strong penalties too.

‘My message to communities is to let the police do their jobs and to make clear that we collectively reject this criminality and disorder – not in our towns, not in our names.

‘The people peddling this violence and hate do not represent Britain’.

Today, former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq said relatives in Rotherham have felt unable to go out and live normally amid the ‘frightening’ violence.

He told Sky News: ‘We’re not so far away either, it’s really worrying times for all of us concerned.’

In Southport, hundreds of people attended a peaceful vigil yesterday evening a week on from the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar.

Children blew bubbles and others left flowers and heart-shaped balloons on Monday evening in remembrance of the victims of the stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.

Merseyside Police have since said one child caught up in the incident remained in hospital but all other patients had been discharged.

Incorrect rumours, that the suspect in the stabbings was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK on a small boat spread via social media, appear to have fuelled the unrest.

Today, the Archbishop of Canterbury said people involved in violent riots ‘defile the flag that they wrap themselves in’.

The Church of England leader spoke of ‘manipulation’ through social media and ‘by people abroad’, which he said must be ‘strongly resisted’.