Tough prison warning for rioters

FAR-RIGHT thugs rioting in Britain were warned today that they face prison sentences of up to 10 years.

- Nicholas Cecil and Anna Davis

Courts minister Heidi Alexander said that hundreds more jail places were being fast-tracked into use so that those found guilty of public disorder and other offenses could be locked up.

She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Decisions about sentencing when these cases come to the courts will be for judges. But whether it is rioting, violent disorder, incitement to racial hatred, criminal damage, these carry very significant maximum sentences.”

Pressed on how long the jail terms could be, Ms. Alexander, a former deputy mayor of London, added: “Ten years, seven years, five years for some of the offences that I’ve just spoken about.”