John Honey: Looter who went viral during Hull riot jailed

A man whose image was widely shared on social media after he looted a string of shops in Hull has been given one of the longest sentences related to the recent riots.

John Honey, 25, was wearing a distinctive St George's Cross T-shirt when he was seen carrying bagfuls of cosmetics out of the Lush store as it was ransacked on 3 August.

He also took goods from the O2 and Shoezone shops and later attacked a car carrying three Romanian men.

Honey also targeted a garage, leaving nine vehicles damaged, and pushed bins at police, Hull Crown Court heard.

The 25-year-old "played a prominent role" in 12 hours of violence and unrest that gripped the city while wearing a "distinctive" England flag T-shirt, prosecutors had said.

Honey, of Park Grove, Hull, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and three charges of burglary.

He also admitted racially aggravated criminal damage of the BMW and damaging the vehicles at the garage.

A sentencing hearing earlier in the week was adjourned after a prison probation officer said Honey had asked him “if he wanted his autograph because he was famous”, which the court heard could have undermined Honey’s claim of being “genuinely remorseful”.

But after hearing that Honey had developmental issues due to his “difficult start in life”, Judge John Thackray KC said his alleged comment “does not have the significance it would otherwise have”.

The judge told Honey: “I’m not going to hear any evidence about comments which you may or may not have made in the prison setting. I’m not going to give them any relevance. If your defence say that there is now genuine remorse, I’ll accept that submission.”

A victim impact statement from the manager of the Lush store said the incident had "massively impacted" the staff, some of whom "cannot bring themselves to come back to the store as they are frightened it will happen again".

Honey was jailed for four years and eight months - the second longest sentence to date given to anyone involved in disorder sparked by protests in the wake of the murders of three girls in Southport.

Michael Quinn, deputy chief crown prosecutor for Yorkshire and Humberside, said: "His behaviour throughout was appalling, shameless, and violent.

“In particular, he was part of an armed mob who attacked a BMW car containing three defenceless members of the public. The three Romanian victims were assaulted, robbed and racially abused as they fled from the car which was then trashed. This cowardly assault left the victims terrified and traumatised.

“Less than two weeks have passed since Honey was identified, caught and convicted."

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