Boy, 13, among seven arrested following asylum hotel protest
Raids carried out after violent demonstration allegedly saw officer hospitalised and police van set alight
A schoolboy is among seven people arrested over an anti-migrant riot outside a hotel housing asylum-seekers in February, police have said.
Seven males aged between 13 and 25 were detained during morning raids carried out on Thursday as part of an investigation into the disorder outside a hotel in Knowsley on 10 February, Merseyside Police said.
They were arrested at properties in Kirkby and Croxteth on suspicion of violent disorder, and would be taken to police stations for questioning, according to the force.
A further 15 people were previously arrested on the night of the protest, during which missiles were thrown at officers and police vehicles damaged, the force said, following reports that a van was set alight.
One person, Jared Skeete was charged with violent disorder and sentenced last month to three years’ detention, after a court heard that the 19-year-old snorted ketamine in front of the line of riot police, at whom he hurled lit fireworks and verbal abuse, at one point wrestling an officer for his shield.
“At around 6.30pm on Friday 10 February, officers were facilitating an initially peaceful protest and counter protest outside the [hotel],” the force said.
“During the evening, missiles were thrown towards officers and damage caused to police vehicles. One officer was injured and taken to hospital.”
Knowsley MP Sir George Howarth said at the time that the demonstration had been triggered by “an alleged incident on social media”, as he criticised misinformation claiming refugees were “feather-bedded” inside.
Superintendent Karl Baldwin said he hoped Thursday’s arrests “show our commitment to make sure there is no repeat of the scenes we saw in February”.
“If you have any information about such crime in your area please contact us,” he said. “There is no excuse for resorting to violence and criminality and we are determined to bring anyone who perpetrates such crimes to justice.
“For those that would commit crime, seek to intimidate or target particular communities, they should be in no doubt that we will do all we can to identify them and bring them to justice.”
The force has analysed 157 pieces of body-worn video footage, scores of social media clips and four hours of drone footage since the disorder in February, said Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald.
“We will always respect the right to protest when these are peaceful but such violence that caused damage to police vehicles totalling more than £83,000 is disgraceful especially when they could have been used to prevent crime and save lives.
“We have arrested a further seven suspects, in addition to the 15 who were arrested on the evening of the disorder, and will continue to take action to ensure the safety of residents in our community.”
Separately, Merseyside Police said in April that they were investigating 15 crimes related to the hotel since 10 February, allegedly including assaults, malicious communications and verbal abuse towards residents, staff and people wrongly assumed to be connected to the premises.
Asylum-seekers told The Independent last month of being fearful to leave the hotel after suffering physical attacks in the streets outside, as several residents prepared to challenge Home Office decisions to refuse their requests to be moved elsewhere.