Man pictured in England shirt during Hull looting jailed

John Honey also helped attack a BMW carrying three Romanian men

John Honey
Author: Press AssociationPublished 16th Aug 2024

A man pictured looting a branch of cosmetics chain Lush while wearing a "distinctive" England flag T-shirt during riots in Hull has been jailed for 56 months.

John Honey, 25, helped attack a BMW carrying three Romanian men, targeted a garage leaving nine vehicles damaged, and pushed bins at police lines during the disorder on August 3.

Honey pleaded guilty to violent disorder and three charges of burglary at Lush, an O2 store and Shoezone.

He also admitted racially aggravated criminal damage over the BMW incident, and damaging nine other cars during an attack on a garage.

A sentencing hearing earlier in the week was adjourned after a prison probation officer said Honey had asked him "if he wanted his autograph because he was famous", which the court heard could have undermined Honey's claim of being "genuinely remorseful".

But after hearing that Honey had developmental issues due to his "difficult start in life", Judge John Thackray KC said his alleged comment "does not have the significance it would otherwise have".

The judge told Honey: "I'm not going to hear any evidence about comments which you may or may not have made in the prison setting. I'm not going to give them any relevance. If your defence say that there is now genuine remorse, I'll accept that submission."

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