Everything we know about the Rotherham riot after mob breaks into migrant hotel

Far-right rioters have targeted a Holiday Inn in Rotherham, with footage appearing to show a group attempting to set the building alight with people still inside.

Police in the Yorkshire town have been overwhelmed by the volume of people surrounding the hotel, which houses asylum seekers.

In videos shared online, the mob can be seen throwing bricks and chairs at officers with riot shields, before smashing windows and entering the building while chanting ‘Yorkshire, Yorkshire’.

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Further clips show a flaming bin against an open window in an apparent attempt to start a fire. It was later extinguished.

People could be seen looking down from windows on the upper floors of the hotel as crowds surrounded it.

At least one police officer wearing riot gear was carried away injured before reinforcements arrived.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the violence in a post on X, saying: ‘The criminal, violent attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham is utterly appalling.

‘Deliberately setting fire to a building with people known to be inside.’

She said the local police have ‘full Government support for the strongest action against those responsible’.

Police officers help their injured colleague away from the scene in Rotherham (Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Activist Brendan Cox, the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox, wrote on social media: ‘The scenes in Rotherham aren’t a protest, they aren’t even a far right riot, they are an ongoing attempt to murder the men, women & children inside by burning them alive.’

Members of the mob, who waved Union flags and the St George’s Cross, taunted police in the car park of the hotel.

The crowd outside the Holiday Inn, as seen from above (Credits: Lee McLean / SWNS)

A fire extinguisher is thrown at riot police officers (Credits: Lee McLean / SWNS)

Unrest continues to spread in towns and cities across the country, following the deadly mass stabbing at a children’s dance class in Southport on Monday.

Greater Manchester Police said a Section 34 dispersal notice has been authorised covering Bolton, where a protest is expected later, until 10pm on Sunday.

Section 60 notices have been introduced by Merseyside Police in Liverpool and Southport, giving officers greater stop-and-search powers.

There have also been violent clashes with police in Middlesbrough, Belfast, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool and Stoke-on-Trent.

In Hull earlier today, racists pulled an Asian man from his car and shouted ‘p***’ at him before smashing up the vehicle.

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