Mum who took child in pushchair to riot outside asylum seeker hotel spared jail
Rob Smith has the latest from court
A "naive" young mother who took her child in a pushchair to a riot outside an asylum seeker hotel has been handed a community order.
Nevey Smith, 21, of West Street, Oldham, pleaded guilty to violent disorder after she was spotted in helicopter footage throwing liquid from a bottle towards police officers.
The officers were trying to maintain order outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Newton Heath, Manchester, on 31 July, just days after the Southport stabbings.
Judge Patrick Field KC described Smith's actions as "disturbing" during sentencing at Manchester Crown Court on 23 September.
He said: "It’s a disturbing feature that you chose to join it [the riot] with you child with you. It’s a disturbing part of this case. What were you thinking?"
The judge also told Smith that she had a “lot to learn” and “quite a lot of growing up to do”, labelling her “misguided, naive and immature”.
He said that her role was “minimal and peripheral” as she had not been involved in throwing bricks or encouraging others to do so.
Daniel Calder, defending, told the court that Smith had not set out to attend the protest on the day, and had been passing the riot when she “foolishly” got involved.
He said that Smith had not expressed discriminatory views and did not know what an asylum seeker is.
Smith was handed a community order and made to attend reviews at a women’s problem-solving court, and carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
Her mother, Vanessa Smith, 42, was also at the protest and admitted violent disorder and will be sentenced on Thursday, 26 September.
Smith is one of hundreds charged over unrest that broke out after three girls were stabbed in Southport, allegedly fuelled by false information spread about the alleged killer online.
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