Britain’s justice system has responded forcefully to the riots
But the perception of a “two-tier” approach does not bear scrutiny
Three Facebook posts were enough to get Jordan Parlour sent down. On August 2nd and 3rd the Britannia Hotel in Leeds, which was being used to house asylum seekers, was pelted with stones. The next day, Mr Parlour posted that “every man and their dog should be smashing fuck out Britannia Hotel”. He had no intention of attacking the hotel himself, but he later told police that he had been frustrated that taxpayers pay for migrants who “rape our kids and get priority”. After pleading guilty to “stirring up racial hatred”, Mr Parlour was sentenced on August 9th to 20 months in prison. He exhaled hard as he left the dock, rattling his lips in resignation.
Explore more
Britain’s government is mapping underground cables and pipes
They are at risk from accidental strikes, and malign attacks
How should Britain handle £200bn in quantitative-easing losses?
An accounting fiddle could give Rachel Reeves more room to avoid tax rises
Would building 1.5m homes bring down British house prices?
Answer: Not by much
Plankton are much more interesting than you might think
The world’s longest-running marine survey is based in Devon
Are Britain’s rioters representative of views on immigration?
Young men chuck bricks, but the old have the sharpest views
How hotels became targets for British rioters
A muddled policy becomes a lightning rod for anger