The number of people jailed for rioting at a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham has now exceeded the number of grooming gang abusers jailed in the South Yorkshire Town, GB News can reveal.
Last August, anti-immigration protests erupted nationwide after the Southport attack, during which rioters attempted to set fire to a hotel sheltering asylum seekers.
Hundreds protested outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, which was housing asylum seekers, before clashes erupted with the police. A bin close to the hotel was set ablaze while 200 people were inside the hotel.
Ten officers were injured during the fracas, with one officer left unconscious and others facing suspected broken bones.
None of the hotel employees or asylum-seeking residents were reported as injured.
The number of people jailed for rioting at a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham has now exceeded the number of grooming gang abusers jailed in the South Yorkshire Town, GB News can reveal
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Since the summer madness, South Yorkshire Police have made over 100 arrests in connection with the disorder, with 93 convictions.
Of those convictions, 88 have been sentenced, of which 77 have been jailed or detained in an Young Offenders’ Institute.
Earlier this year, the number of people jailed over the riot in Rotherham overtook the number of people jailed for perpetrating the grooming gang abuse in the South Yorkshire town.
Between 1997 and 2013, at least 1,510 victims were targeted by predominantly Pakistani rapists.
For decades, the authorities did not tackle the horrific abuse, which led to government intervention and several reports outlining cover-ups and institutional failures.
GB News data has found that, to date, there have been 68 convictions for group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation in the town.
Two South Yorkshire Police operations into the abuse gangs led to convictions in 2010 and 2017. Operation central saw five men jailed after being found guilty of sex offences against girls as young as 12.
Operation Clover, which was launched following reporting by the Times newspaper and was ongoing at the time of the Rotherham inquiry, concluded in early 2017 with four trials. This saw at least 21 offenders convicted of multiple child abuse offences.
The National Crime Agency was brought in to prosecute the scandal amid controversy over South Yorkshire Police’s handling of the atrocity.
As of last week, its Operation Stovewood has seen 42 people convicted and sentenced to 539 years to be served behind bars.
Some of the Stovewood convictions have seen offenders from Operation Clover sentenced for further offences.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “We still don’t have justice for the victims of the most evil rape gangs imaginable. The authorities have gone after weekend rioters with greater energy than the perpetrators of decades-long rape and sexual abuse of vulnerable girls.”
He added: “Two-tier Keir thinks countless of issues are worthy of an inquiry, but somehow not the rape gangs in over 50 towns and cities across the country many of which persist to this day.
“It can only be because Starmer is squeamish about confronting uncomfortable facts, like the over-representation of Pakistani men in the rape gangs and their racially-motivated hatred of young white girls. It’s shameful.’
The Government has been contacted for comment.