The mother of one of Britain’s youngest rioters was today ordered to pay £1,200 after opting to fly to Ibiza for a sunshine break instead of attending her son’s planned sentencing.
After being hauled to court by a judge – who said she was ‘frankly astonished’ by her failure to show up – she was today told to hand over a sum equivalent to the cost of the holiday to those ‘terrorised’ by the 12-year-old’s violence.
It will be divided between four people left traumatised by the anti-immigration disturbances which followed the stabbing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift themed dance class in Southport.
The order came as her son – who today claimed not to know what an asylum seeker was – received an intensive referral order designed to keep him out of trouble after being told his life was at a ‘crossroads’.
The slightly-built youngster, an aspiring DJ who doesn’t attend school and hadn’t been taking his medication for ADHD, admitted being part of a mob that attacked a bus outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Manchester on July 31.
Days later on August 3, in Manchester city centre, he was part of a group filmed looting a branch of Sainsbury’s and kicking the windows of a vape shop.
He had been due to be sentenced last week – but the case was adjourned after District Judge Joanne Hirst told of her incredulity that his mother had flown out to the Spanish island the day before for a five-day trip.
Summonsing the mother, Judge Hirst said she would require a ‘full explanation’ from her into the ‘serious situation’ which had ‘deteriorated’ as a result of her decision not to accompany her son, who was instead escorted by an uncle.
‘She is on notice, I will be challenging her about this decision,’ she added.
Today the mother was ordered to explain her actions by Judge Hirst ahead of her son’s sentencing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court.
The woman – who can’t be named to protect her son’s identity – said it had not been put to her ‘how much I actually needed to be there’.
She said the trip – which cost more than £1,000 – had been booked before the court date was arranged.
Asked by Judge Hirst if she felt she had been ‘prioritising’ her son’s needs, she replied: ‘Not really, no.’
‘Do you understand now how important it is for a parent to attend and to be accountable for the actions of a child they’re bringing up?’ Judge Hirst asked.
‘Yes,’ she replied.
Judge Hirst then told her to be seated while her son was brought in, sitting alongside her in the well of the court.
It was shown shocking CCTV showing the boy using his bike to stop a bus passing a protest outside a Holiday Inn housing asylum seekers.
The bus driver was then attacked by hooded thugs as the boy kicked out at the vehicle.
Later that evening he was filmed handing a rock to a rioter throwing missiles at police.
Days later – now wearing a balaclava – he was captured while part of a mob storming shops in the centre of Manchester, leaving customers cowering in terror.
A statement was read from the bus driver – left needing hospital treatment – who said he had been left ‘scared to deal with members of the public’.
The court also heard from an asylum seeker staying at the hotel who said: ‘I came to this country to feel safe, but since this incident I don’t feel safe any more.’
The defendant’s mother insisted he was an ‘affectionate little boy’ who enjoyed music.
But she admitted she regularly struggled to get him to come home at night and hadn’t known where he was during the riots.
Judge Hirst then quizzed the boy – dressed in a grey hoodie and padded gilet – who said he had become ‘carried away’ by the violence, which he initially found ‘funny’.
Asked if he knew what an asylum seeker was, he replied: ‘No.’
Quizzed on how he felt now, he replied: ‘I’m just worried I might get, like, jailed.’
Asked if he had experienced racism himself, he answered ‘one time’, adding that it made him feel ‘really sad’.
The boy’s solicitor, Catherine Baird, said his ADHD diagnosis made him ‘impulsive’.
Saying he was not ‘politically motivated’, she argued that he ‘simply got swept up’ in the disorder.
His life was now at a ‘crossroads’ over whether he ends up in custody or ‘stays out of trouble’, she added.
Judge Hirst said an adult involved in similar violence would have been jailed for up to five years.
But due to his age, absence of previous convictions, and early guilty pleas to two counts of violent disorder, she could not lock him up, she said.
Telling him it was ‘probably the biggest chance you’re ever going to get’, she imposed a 12-month intensive referral order to address his behaviour.
He is also subject to a three-month overnight curfew.
Judge Hirst ordered his mother – who does not claim benefits – to pay £300 in compensation to each of the bus driver, the asylum seeker, a housing official at the hotel and a Sainsbury’s worker, at £100-a-month.
She nodded as Judge Hirst said the total order of £1,200 was ‘approximately the same price as your holiday to Ibiza’.
She was also made subject to a six-month parenting order.
Last week the judge said she was ‘frankly astonished’ after discovering the 12-year-old’s mother had missed his planned sentencing and jetted out to the Spanish island for a five-day trip.
The youngster was one of the youngest to take part in sickening violence which broke out after the stabbing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift themed dance class in Southport on July 29.
At last Monday’s hearing, Judge Hirst was told the boy’s mother was not present, having booked a holiday in July and gone abroad the previous day.
She was only due to fly back to the UK last Thursday, missing his sentencing hearing.
The judge thanked the boy’s uncle for accompanying his nephew to court in his mother’s absence, but added: ‘One day before the hearing we find out the mum has gone on holiday and is not with her son who played a greater part in the recent civil disorder than any adult or child I’ve seen coming through these courts.
‘I’m frankly astonished. I will require a full explanation from mum on her decision to go on holiday one day before her 12-year-old son comes to court facing a potential custodial sentence.
‘This is a serious situation, it has now deteriorated in my view because of the actions of the mother. She is on notice, I will be challenging her about this decision.’
Judge Hirst adjourned sentencing of the boy and ordered a parental summons so the mother must appear before the court to explain herself.
Addressing the boy as she adjourned sentencing to today, Judge Hirst told him: ‘Boys like you need their mums in their lives. I need your mum here.’
Neither the boy nor his mother can be identified due to his age.
Afterwards John Moran, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: ‘It is deeply concerning to see young people engaging in the disorder that has plagued our streets.
‘The fact this boy took steps to shield his identity shows he knew what he was doing was wrong, the fact the behaviour was repeated increases the seriousness of the acts.
‘This behaviour cannot go unchallenged; we will continue to work side by side with the police and our partners across the criminal justice system to ensure justice is delivered robustly and swiftly.’