Four sentenced for violent disorder in Plymouth

(L-R) John Cann, Ryan Bailey, Gary Harkness and Amer Walid were all jailed at Plymouth Crown Court

Four people have been sentenced for their parts in violent protests in Plymouth City Centre earlier this month.

John Cann, Ryan Bailey, Gary Harkness and Amer Walid all previously admitted offences of violent disorder at Plymouth Crown Court.

Cann, 51, who threw a lit firework was told by the judge told he had “no right whatsoever to say who should and shouldn’t be in this country”.

Sentencing him to three years in prison, Judge Robert Linford said Cann had been "spouting the sort of dangerous inaccurate nonsense that was behind these incidents".

'Costing this country'

The court heard Cann, of Patna Place, who has 26 convictions for 170 offences, referred in a police interview after his arrest to the cost to taxpayers of immigrants and said he thought the protest was “because an immigrant had killed some girls”.

The judge said the “person in question was not an immigrant but they and you didn’t care, it was just an excuse”.

Judge Linford said he wanted to talk about the cost to the taxpayer of Cann's activities, saying he had 10 aliases, four fictitious birthdates and 170 offences for which he had been sentenced to 357 months in prison for - most of which had run concurrently.

“That Mr Cann is what you’ve been costing this country,” Judge Linford said.

“You have no right whatsoever to say who should and shouldn’t be in this country.”

The court heard Ryan Bailey, 41, of no fixed abode, Plymouth, who also admitted violent disorder, was seen picking up a can and throwing it and also chanting about immigrants not being welcome.

Feleena Grosvenor, defending Bailey and Cann said both were remorseful and had written letters apologising for their actions.

She said Bailey’s letter said: “I’ve reflected on my part of Monday and I’m ashamed of my actions towards the police and the other side. I’m very sorry, I wish I’d never walked down the street that way.”

Sentencing Bailey, who the court heard had 24 convictions for 39 previous offences, to 30 months in prison, Judge Linford said of the anti-immigration chants that he was “in no position to judge anybody”.

“The word is going to go out from this court that that people who behave in this way are going to go to prison and going to go to prison for a considerable time,” he added.

'Obnoxious racism'

Gary Harkness, 51, of North Road West, who the court heard has nine previous convictions for 14 offences, was sentenced to 12 months for his part in the disorder.

Lewis Aldous, prosecuting, said Harkness could be seen at least eight times on bodyworn camera footage “front and centre” of the far-right protestors, and he later told police he had been drinking and was “steaming drunk and absolutely annihilated”.

Judge Linford said Harkness, who served in the Army and suffered from PTSD, had “encouraged others” but had not hit, thrown or spat at anyone.

A fourth man, Amer Walid, 24, of Central Park Avenue in Plymouth, was sentenced to 20 months for violent disorder.

Mr Aldous said Walid had been to a mosque before going to the protest on the side of Royal Parade.

Mr Aldous said he had thrown “four missiles in the direction of the opposing crowd” and had been shouting “things like ‘Allahu Akbar’”.

Zoe Kuyken, defending, said Walid, who worked in a car wash, “was particularly offended to have alcoholic beverages thrown at him when he doesn't drink for religious reasons”.

“His religion is incredibly important to him,” she added.

Judge Linford told him: “You have never been in any trouble in your life and what you should have done was simply rise above their obnoxious racism.”