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The mother of one of the youngest offenders involved in race riots this summer has revealed why she missed her son’s sentencing to go to Ibiza on holiday.
The 12 year-old previously admitted two counts of violent disorder but was unable to be sentenced last Monday, after the judge learned his mother was not present as she had booked a holiday in July and had gone abroad on Sunday.
District Judge Joanne Hirst told Manchester Magistrates’ Court she was “frankly astonished” that she had travelled for a five-day sunshine break, despite her son’s offences.
Appearing in court on Wednesday, the 30-year-old single mother who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said her trip to the Spanish island had cost £1,000.
After an hour-long hearing, the judge ordered the mother to take part in a six-month parenting course and to pay compensation of £1,200, telling her, “You know it’s approximately the same cost as your holiday to Ibiza.”
Referring to her failure to attend court previously, the judge asked the mother: “Can you explain your point of view?
Explaining that she had spoken with her solicitor and the Youth Justice team beforehand, she replied: “It was not put to me how much I needed to be there. Each one said, ‘Is there an appropriate adult?’ My brother – which is why I went on holiday.”
After speaking to his mother, the court was shown video footage of his offences.
The boy had ridden his bike in front of the bus, forcing it to stop, as it passed a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Manchester on July 31.
The boy then kicked the bus as a mob attacked the vehicle and the driver of the bus, leaving passengers, one a resident of the hotel, terrified.
Days later on August 3 the boy, wearing a balaclava, was in Manchester city centre, where he knocked over shelves in a Sainsbury’s store as it was looted then kicked the glass door of a vape shop as others tried to break into the premises.
He told the judge he was “sorry”, now had help from social workers and had taken up boxing.
Sentencing her son, the judge told the youngster he had been involved in “the worst type of feral behaviour in our country” and if an adult, he would be going to jail for up to five years, but she was giving him a chance and instead ordered him to complete a 12-month referral order.
The child, who has ADHD, was described as a “lovely affection little boy,” by his mother, but who had at times a “chaotic” home life.
Hannah Nicholls, defending, told the court the youngster had no previous convictions, adding: “This is a child. He simply got wrapped up, surrounded by peers, many of them were adults. Custody would do more harm than good.”
The judge asked him directly about his behaviour.
“It’s horrible. I’m just worried that I might get, like… jailed.”
She told the mixed-race youngster the hotel was for asylum seekers and asked if he had ever suffered racism and how it made him feel.
“One time. Really sad.”
Asked what he would say to the asylum seekers, he replied: “I would not know exactly what to say, but I would say sorry.”
The mother was ordered to pay £300 each to the bus driver, a housing officer at the asylum hotel, an asylum seeker who was on the attacked bus and a member of staff at the looted Sainsbury’s store.
Riots broke out across the UK following the killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift themed dance class in Southport on 29 July. Misinformation about the killer’s identity led to far-right clashes, with hotels housing refugees and mosques targeted.
