Two men who admitted violent disorder at an anti-migrant protest have been given suspended prison sentences.

Justin Dixon and Deano Ryan were involved in a demonstration in Eastney, Portsmouth, on 6 September, after about 120 migrants who had crossed the English Channel in a small boat were brought to shore.

Dixon, 50, was recorded on video pushing a large metal gate towards police, while Ryan, 22, was filmed appearing to throw stones.

Judge Daniel Sawyer, sitting at Portsmouth Crown Court, said both men had played a limited role in the disorder, but told Dixon he had come within “a hair’s breadth of going to prison”.

Dixon, of Cross Way, Havant, was handed an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years. Ryan, of All Saints Road, Portsmouth, was given 14 months suspended for two years.

Prosecutor Josh Happe said about 200 to 300 people were involved in the protest and that it had “quickly turned into large scale public disorder”.

Seven police officers were assaulted and missiles were thrown.

The judge said there was a “general air of hostility and intimidation” at the protest, where some of those demonstrating were wearing masks.

No-one was injured by the gate, which measured 6ft by 20ft, but some officers had to move quickly to get out of its way.

Dixon’s barrister, Lucy Linington, said he had attended the protest because “he wanted his voice to be heard”, and described his actions as a “moment of madness” he now “deeply regretted”.

She said he accepted his actions “did amount to the threat of unlawful violence towards officers”.

Dixon was also ordered to complete 260 hours of unpaid work and will be subject to a three-month curfew.

BBC News

Two women have admitted assaulting police officers during an anti-migrant protest.

Hundreds of demonstrators turned up at the former Haslar naval base in Gosport, Hampshire, on Tuesday, believing that a group of asylum seekers would be landing after being picked up in the Channel.

Sally Pearson, 31 caused ligament damage to an officer when she punched him, and Shannon Dodds, 32, sprayed an unknown substance into the officers’ faces, Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard.

They are both due to be sentenced on 15 October.

Hampshire Police deployed officers to the town on Tuesday evening “to help facilitate peaceful protest, ensure the safety of the local community and support partners in the event of any emergency at sea”.

A total of 51 migrants were ultimately taken to Dover after their boat, which had travelled to the UK from France, was intercepted.

Pearson, of Forton Road in Gosport, pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting a police officer and one count of racially aggravated intentional harassment.

The court heard she punched an officer, hitting his hand and causing ligament damage. The officer will be off duty for four weeks. She was released on conditional bail.

‘Threatening’

Dodds, of Leonard Road in Gosport, pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting two police officers.

The court heard she had been dressed in black and was wearing a face mask and sunglasses during the protest, and sprayed an unknown substance into officers’ faces and eyes.

The district judge, Anthony Callaway, was shown video footage of Dodds standing in front of a row of officers in a way that he described as “threatening”.

She was refused bail and was remanded in custody.

On Wednesday, Toby Matthews, 33, also of Forton Road, was charged with common assault of an emergency worker. He has been bailed to appear in court on 9 November.

A 19-year-old man and a 36-year-old man, both from Salisbury, who were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass have been bailed with conditions until 22 December while inquiries continue.

A 67-year-old man from Gosport was given a fixed penalty notice for driving without due care and attention, police said.

He was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and has been bailed with conditions until 22 December.

BBC News

A father-of-two has become the first man jailed following an anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth after admitting throwing a plastic bottle and swearing at police.

Del Somerville, 42, was given a two-year sentence after previously pleading guilty to violent disorder at the city’s crown court following the overnight protest near Eastney Marina on 6 September.

Hundreds of protesters gathered after a boat carrying about 120 migrants was brought ashore near Eastney Beach.

He pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of assaulting a police officer, relating to an incident on 11 September, and will face trial at Portsmouth Magistrates Court at a later date.

Judge Daniel Sawyer told Somerville that his sentence would act as a deterrent to others following subsequent protests in the area.

Describing him as a “thug”, he told the defendant: “Police officers dedicate their lives to the protection of the public regardless of their own views, the very least they can expect is that those who engage in protests treat them with respect and the courts punish those who assault them.”

The court heard Sommerville, from Portsmouth, was among a large group of demonstrators protesting at the arrival of the migrants.

They were brought ashore by the RNLI after being picked up in the Channel. A number of volunteer lifeboat crew members were subject to online abuse following the incident.

Prosecutor Edward Warren said Somerville was part of an “initially peaceful and lawful” gathering of a number of people on Ferry Road.

At shortly before 23:30 BST, he was with a large group of men as they were held up by the police line.

The court was told he was identified in police body-worn video as throwing a small bottle and swearing at police.

When later interviewed by police, he said he had found the bottle on the ground and was going to throw it into a nearby bush, but was angry and so threw it up into the air.

Defence barrister Helen Easterbrook said Somerville had been “caught up” in the disturbances.

She said he had been attempting to be a “calming influence” on the crowd but had thrown the bottle “in frustration”.

Four other men are awaiting sentence having also been charged with violent disorder following the protest in Eastney.

BBC News

A man has admitted pushing a police officer off his motorcycle during a protest.

The incident took place during an anti-migrant demonstration in Portsmouth and involved 54-year-old Nigel Wylie, of Redbridge Grove, Havant.

He pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Portsmouth Crown Court following the event, which took place in the Eastney area of the city on September 6 and saw around 200 people gather after the arrival of a dinghy across the English Channel.

Seven police officers were injured during the unrest and Coastguard and Border Force vehicles were damaged.

Judge Daniel Sawyer said: “The context was a large-scale group which began as a protest and turned into violent disorder, which are completely different things.

“Mr Wylie, not quite front and centre but second row and centre of a large group of, largely, men screaming abuse and threats at a line of police officers who were trying to do their jobs.

“Mr Wylie pushed one of those officers off his motorcycle causing him to fall.

“As with all these cases, it’s not just one case of violent behaviour but he was in the middle of a group acting in that way.”

Wylie was refused bail ahead of sentencing, with the judge expressing concerns about the likelihood of reoffending.

The judge said: “Given that these confrontations persist and Mr Wylie was at the forefront of them standing amongst others screaming and shouting abuse and threats at police, and deliberately pushed a police officer off his motorbike, gives me grounds to believe that Mr Wylie would join another such confrontation and would offend on bail.”

A pre-sentence report has been requested, with sentencing set for November 27.

Other people have also been charged and convicted in relation to the protest.

Del Somerville, 42, of Paulsgrove, Portsmouth, has pleaded guilty to violent disorder and will be sentenced on Thursday.

Justin Dixon, 50, of Cross Way, Havant, also pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on October 8.

Deano Ryan, 22, of All Saints Road, Portsmouth, admitted the same charge and was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on October 8.

Daily Echo

A man has been charged with violent disorder following an anti-migrant demonstration in Portsmouth.

A large crowd of protesters gathered near Eastney Marina when a boat carrying about 120 migrants was brought ashore after crossing the Channel at nearby Eastney Beach on 6 September.

Hampshire Police said 54-year-old Nigel Wylie, from Havant, had been charged with violent disorder.

Wylie appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on Saturday for an initial hearing and has been remanded into custody until he returns to court on Wednesday.

Four men have so far indicated guilty pleas on charges of violent disorder in connection with the protests at Eastney

Bradley Pinnock, of Fathoms Reach, Hayling Island, is due to be sentenced on 11 December.

Justin Dixon from Cross Way, Havant, and Deano Ryan, 22, of All Saints Road, Portsmouth, are both due to be sentenced on 8 October.

Del Somerville, 42, from Paulsgrove, is due to be sentenced on Thursday.

BBC News

A man has admitted to throwing a bottle towards a police line and swearing at officers during an anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth.

Del Somerville, 42, pleaded guilty at the city’s crown court to violent disorder after the overnight protest at Eastney Marina on 6 September.

He was the first person to be arrested over the disorder, which saw hundreds of protesters gather after a boat carrying about 120 migrants was brought ashore at nearby Eastney Beach.

Somerville, from Paulsgrove, is due to be sentenced on 24 September.

Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court was told during his first appearance on Saturday that he was accused of swearing at officers and throwing a bottle towards a police line.

Prosecutor Lucy Paddick had told the hearing that during the protest Somerville was an “active participant in the disorder and demonstrated hostile and aggressive behaviour towards police”.

Body-worn footage showed him approaching a police cordon in an “intimidating manner” and throwing a bottle directed at officers, she said.

Representing him at magistrates’ court, solicitor Jennifer Hall had told the hearing “he hadn’t set out to be involved in this matter” and had a boat moored in a marina where he spends three nights a week “being peaceful”.

“There was a crowd of people sitting around the marina, they were on the fringes of the protest,” she said.

The solicitor said police locked the marina, meaning Somerville could not get back to his boat.

She added that he spent part of the time trying to calm the crowd and, although he picked up an empty plastic bottle, he said it was not intended for police officers and that he meant them no harm.

Somerville is also charged with assaulting a PC during his arrest on 11 September.

No plea has ben been entered, but Judge Daniel Sawyer said if the defendant accepted the charge it would be dealt with during his sentencing hearing for violent disorder.

The judge added that there was nothing to suggest Somerville was a dangerous offender, who has one previous motoring offence.

BBC News

A Southampton teenager who robbed a taxi driver at knifepoint claimed police were doing a “Henry Nowak” to him as he was arrested.

Jordan Hambleton told officers to make sure they film his arrest “in case they did a Henry Nowak” and shouted: “I’m dying, I have just been stabbed” towards nearby homes, prosecutor Keeley Harvey told Southampton Crown Court.

The comments came shortly after the 19-year-old, of Rollesbrook Gardens, Southampton, had robbed a taxi driver at knifepoint and just hours after he took part in violent disorder in Portswood following the Henry Nowak case, the court was told.

Hambleton appeared at Southampton Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced for robbery, possession of a bladed article, grievous bodily harm and violent disorder.

The court heard Hambleton had been drinking after attending the disorder on June 2 and decided to get more alcohol in the early hours of June 3.

He ordered a taxi knowing he didn’t have enough money for it.

He got into the front passenger seat when it arrived at about 2.20am, and a woman and a ten-year-old child got into the back.

Ms Harvey said Hambleton then pulled out a knife and demanded the keys from driver Jawid Firoz.

When Mr Firoz explained that the vehicle was electric and keyless, Hambleton continued making demands before the driver fled the car.

Hambleton climbed into the driver’s seat but was “unsurprisingly” unable to start it.

He got out and made waving and stabbing motions with his knife towards Mr Firoz, who continued backing away.

When a member of the public stopped to call police and help Mr Firoz, Hambleton entered the taxi, stole a wallet with £120 in cash, a portable card machine and a mobile phone, before leaving.

The witness followed him from a safe distance and later directed police to where the knife was believed to have been discarded.

Hambleton was arrested a short time later.

Despite the stolen property being found on him, he claimed he had simply been walking to a pub.

Ms Harvey said Hambleton was “obnoxious” during his arrest, calling officers “scummers” who had “arrested that Henry Nowak”.

She said he told officers to make sure to record his arrest, in case they did a “Henry Nowak” to him.

The court heard Hambleton later told probation officers he believed it would be better to crash a taxi than his own car.

Just hours earlier on June 2, Hambleton, alongside two others, threw an electric scooter towards a police cordon.

The scooter struck Benjamin Collar, described in court as an “emergency services enthusiast”, causing him a fractured jaw.

In a victim personal statement, Mr Collar said the injury was the most painful thing that had ever happened to him.

Hambleton also threw two bins, a yellow traffic cone and another projectile towards police officers during the disorder.

Thomas Evans, mitigating, told the court that his client was a young man with no previous convictions who pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

Mr Evans added that his client had “some sort of loose connection” to Henry Nowak, which had exacerbated his anger, adding: “This is a very immature young man.”

He added that Hambleton’s adoptive father had told him the defendant’s great-grandfather, who had been a police chief, would be “turning in his grave” at what had happened.

“We can only hope that this experience will cause him to grow up,” he said.

Sentencing him, Judge William Mousley said a probation report showed Hambleton had admitted being involved in numerous fights and robberies to fund his drug use.

He said: “You don’t show any motivation to address the problems you have.”

Hambleton was jailed for three years for robbery, with a concurrent one-year sentence for possessing a bladed article.

He was also sentenced to three years for grievous bodily harm and three years for violent disorder, to run concurrently with each other but consecutively to the robbery sentence.

In total, he was jailed for six years.

Daily Echo

A man convicted for his role in protests over Henry Nowak’s death has has been jailed after smuggling up to £600,000 worth of cannabis into the UK from Thailand.

Noah Barker, 19, of Derby Road in Southampton, was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison at Southampton Crown Court on 4 September, violent disorder during the protests on June 2 and drug smuggling.

He was arrested at Heathrow Airport on July 10 after arriving from Bangkok in relation to violent disorder.

Border Force officers inspected his luggage, discovering 41 packages containing more than 20kg of cannabis.

When questioned about the contents, Barker told officers: “It is cannabis.”

A subsequent investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed that Barker had been recruited by a criminal group via Snapchat.

He told investigators he was offered a free holiday and payment to transport the suitcases but ultimately received no money.

Barker admitted he knew the bags contained either cannabis or cocaine.

He pleaded guilty to both drug smuggling and violent disorder.

The violent disorder charge stemmed from an incident in Southampton following the Henry Nowak protests on June 2.

Mark Abbott, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “Like other cannabis smugglers, Barker was motivated by money.

“He knew he was doing something illegal and fraught with danger but did it anyway.

“As well as a life-changing criminal conviction, couriers’ future career and travel prospects can be wrecked by smuggling drugs.

“We will continue to work with partners at Border Force and in Thailand to combat the smuggling of cannabis to the UK.”

Barker received two years and four months in prison for violent disorder and 16 months for drug smuggling.

The NCA has launched a social media campaign aimed at deterring individuals from smuggling cannabis on behalf of criminal groups.

In July, Thai authorities introduced new penalties for drug couriers caught smuggling cannabis.

Offenders now face fines of approximately £680 per kilogram, with the average smuggler carrying 26kg, amounting to a fine of nearly £18,000.

Those unable to pay face up to two years in a Thai prison.

Daily Echo

A man who was part of a mob that attacked police officers following a murder trial has been handed a two-year jail sentence.

Peter Black, 46, pleaded guilty at Southampton Crown Court to violent disorder in the city on 2 June.

He is the 34th person to be charged over the night of violence, which followed the sentencing of Vickrum Digwa for murdering student Henry Nowak.

The court heard Black, of Waterhouse Lane, Southampton, had 26 previous convictions for 141 offences and was previously jailed for ordering a semi-automatic handgun on the dark web.

The Glock 19 pistol was seized after it had been posted from the US, concealed inside a household item, to a property in Portsmouth.

At the time, police described Black as a “potentially dangerous individual”.

During the Southampton disorder, 12 police officers were injured after bricks, bottles and other objects were thrown at them.

It followed revelations about the police’s treatment of Nowak, who was initially arrested and handcuffed before his fatal injury was discovered.

His killer, Digwa, used a blade he claimed to have carried as part of his Sikh faith and falsely told police he had been the victim of a racist attack, the court heard.

Judge William Mousley KC previously said the violent protest was a “hate crime, borne out of hatred of the police and in some cases racist views”.

BBC News

Three people who hurled projectiles at police during the disorder that followed the death of Henry Nowak have avoided immediate custody.

Callum Cool, 18, Teagan Sims, 19, and Bethany Davies, 23, admitted violent disorder at Southampton Crown Court and were sentenced.

More than 1,000 people gathered outside Southampton Central police station on June 2 to protest the police treatment and arrest of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak following his fatal stabbing.

As tensions escalated, hundreds marched to Portswood, where clashes with police broke out.

Prosecutor Siobhan Linsley said Cool threw a drinks can, a bottle and a bin at officers; he was 17 at the time and turned 18 four days later.

Sims and Davies, who attended the disorder together, also threw objects at police.

Footage filmed by a YouTuber and shown in court captured the pair being interviewed during the unrest.

One said: “Justice for Henry.”

Asked about police, one replied: “They should have done a better job because that is what they are paid for at the end of the day.”

Ms Linsley said Davies had a previous conviction for kicking two police officers when she was 18.

Referring to Sims and Davies, she added: “Quite clearly they are egging each other on.”

The court heard Cool, of Robinia Green in Southampton, Sims, of Purdy Road in Carisbrooke, and Davies, of Holmes Court, Tennyson Road, Yarmouth, had all pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

Tom Evans, mitigating for Cool and Sims, said both had shown remorse, were willing to work with probation and had no previous convictions.

Bridget O’Hagan, mitigating for Davies, said her client had been traumatised by her time in custody after her arrest and had learning disabilities, ADHD and autism.

She added: “With the greatest respect she has absolutely no understanding of what two-tier justice is.”

Judge William Mousley KC suspended all three custodial sentences, citing their youth and personal circumstances.

Cool was sentenced to 16 months in a young offender institution, suspended for two years, and must complete 150 hours of unpaid work and obey a six-month curfew.

Sims was sentenced to 20 months in a young offender institution, suspended for two years, and must complete 120 hours of unpaid work, abstain from alcohol for 120 days and undertake 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

Davies was sentenced to two years in a young offender institution, suspended for two years, and must complete 120 hours of unpaid work, abstain from alcohol for 120 days, undertake 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days and obey a one-year curfew.

The protests followed revelations that police had initially handcuffed Henry while he was critically injured, after his alleged attacker falsely claimed he had been the victim of a racist attack.

Daily Echo