A man who threw a brick at police during violent disturbances following the Southport stabbings has been sentenced to 27 months in prison. Liam Curwen, 32, spat at officers, threw the brick, and brandished paving bricks in a disorderly incident in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, on August 3, 2024.
Curwen was part of a group that confronted the police line in Hanley shortly after the tragic incident in Southport where three girls were murdered. The incident, later referred to as the “Southport Riots,” involved clashes between around 400 individuals and law enforcement in Hanley and other locations across the country.
Disorder erupted across the UK after the murder of three girls in Southport by Axel Rudakubana. False rumors about the killer being a Muslim immigrant fueled the unrest, resulting in approximately two thousand arrests, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Witnesses reported men wielding gardening forks, baseball bats, and timber during the chaotic scenes in the city center following the Southport stabbings. Curwen’s defense claimed he was merely meeting a friend and unintentionally got involved in the group’s activities.
Videos from the incident captured Islamophobic chants and officers being targeted with missiles. The protests forced a local theater to close, disrupting a children’s dance production for safety reasons.
Curwen, who pleaded guilty to violent disorder, was arrested in January 2025. Despite claims of remorse and a plea for a suspended sentence, the judge emphasized the seriousness of Curwen’s actions and sentenced him to imprisonment, citing his participation in violent behavior during the disturbances as unacceptable.
