How an asylum hotel rioter’s death in prison revived a far-right conspiracy theory

The prison death of a far-right rioter has been met with outrage by sympathizers, who claim he was wrongly convicted under a corrupt justice system.

Peter Lynch died on Saturday at HMP Moorland, South Yorkshire, where he was serving a two-year, eight-month prison sentence for violent disorder.

The 61-year-old pleaded guilty after he was filmed shouting at riot police outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in August as riots gripped the country following the Southport stabbings.

Far-right figures have blamed police and the courts for Lynch’s death, reviving conspiracies that flourished in the wake of last summer’s disorder.

“Peter Lynch was one of us,” Tommy Robinson, co-founder of the English Defense League, wrote of X. “A concerned British grandfather. Imprisoned by a corrupt judiciary on the orders of Keir Starmer.”

But the theory that far-right rioters have been victims of a “two-tiered” justice system that treats them more harshly because of their views has been widely discredited.

How Peter Lynch Ended up in Prison

The Ministry of Justice confirmed on Monday that Peter Lynch died two days earlier at HMP Moorland, near Doncaster.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said on Monday: “HMP Moorland prisoner Peter Lynch died on October 19, 2024.

“As with all deaths in custody, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”

The father-of-four was jailed for his role in a riot that took place outside the Holiday Inn Express, Rotherham, on August 4.

Riot police were pelted with fencing and other missiles and at one point an attempt was made to set fire to a rubbish bin outside the hotel as some participants forced their way into the building.

About 240 asylum seekers were trapped on the top floors while staff barricaded themselves in a panic room below, fearing for their lives.

Sheffield Crown Court heard Lynch was at the front of a crowd that had gathered outside the building. He was pictured holding a sign describing police, MPs and judges as corrupt.

The court was shown body-worn camera footage of him shouting: “You are protecting people who are killing and raping our children!” and “scum” at officers holding riot shields.

He pleaded guilty to violent disorder and was jailed for two years and eight months.

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During the sentencing hearing on August 22, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC heard how Lynch suffered from diabetes, thyroid problems, angina and had recently suffered a heart attack.

Judge Richardson told him: “You did not assault any police officer yourself, so far as can be established, but what you did was by your behavior encourage others to behave violently and you were part of this gang.”

He was filmed repeatedly challenging officers as they tried to push him back with shields, shouting “protect my children” and shouting: “We are on the streets now to protect our children”.

When asked by Judge Richardson what the significance of the sign was, Ian West, defending, said: “It is a general conspiracy theory against everyone and every form of authority.

“This was somewhat off-topic of what was going on that day.”

Lynch, from Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham, was married for 36 years and had four adult children and three grandchildren.

He worked in the packaging industry but recently became unemployed, his lawyer said.

‘Two-tier’ claims are spreading online

In the aftermath of Lynch’s death, figures on the right tried to portray him as a victim of a “two-tiered” justice system, with the prime minister being blamed.

Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform, wrote of X: “He (Lynch) said some very ill-advised, crazy, bad things. But he didn’t deserve to die for it. He was a political prisoner in Great Britain. Sir Keir Starmer’s bipartisan justice killed this man.’

Tommy Robinson told his one million followers on X: “Peter Lynch was one of us. A concerned British grandfather. Captured by a corrupt judiciary on the orders of @Keir_Starmer.

“Tormented to suicide? Away from his family! We want justice for these political prisoners! Come to London on Saturday. United we stand, divided we fall!”

The prison service has not yet released details of how Lynch died, but several commentators have stated that he took his own life, without evidence.

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A discredited theory

The dual justice theory claims that police and courts show leniency toward ethnic minorities and left-wing protesters, while cracking down on their right-wing counterparts.

This theory began to gain momentum last November, when pro-Palestinian protests were at their peak after Israel launched its response to Hamas’ attack a month earlier.

Suella Braverman, then Minister of the Interior, criticized the monitoring of the events, claiming: “Right-wing and nationalist demonstrators who engage in aggression rightly receive a severe response, but pro-Palestinian gangs who exhibit almost identical behavior are largely ignored, even if clearly breaking the law.”

Criticism was again leveled at the police over its response to the unrest in Harehills, Leeds, in July, which was sparked by authorities taking children from a Roma family into care.

Right-wing figures suggested that the police were unwilling to intervene as the agitators were from minority backgrounds.

As authorities attempted to quell the riots that broke out across the country a month later, with hundreds of participants quickly arrested, charged and convicted, accusations of “two-pronged” justice spread again.

Leading law enforcement figures have dismissed the theory, arguing it undermines the aggravated nature of the August riots.

Write for i, Former Metropolitan Police Chief Inspector Parm Sandhu said the “main reason for the differing police responses lies in the nature and scale of the violence involved”.

“Recent violent disorder in Britain has been characterized by significant aggression and direct attacks on individuals, often motivated by racial, religious or immigration-related hostilities,” she wrote.

“These acts go beyond lawful protest and into the realm of criminal violence, necessitating a stronger police response.

“In contrast, many Gaza-related protests and those of Extinction Rebellion mainly involve non-violent civil disobedience. While these protests can cause public discomfort and disruption, they rarely escalate to the level of violence seen in other demonstrations.

“For example, climate protesters may have glued themselves to roads or climbed bridges – which certainly posed risks to themselves and inconvenience to the public – but they did not target individuals to cause harm.”

In response to claims that far-right rioters have been disproportionately sentenced, legal experts have argued that left-wing protesters receive similar treatment.

The Secret Barrister, a practicing lawyer and author, wrote in his blog: “Black Lives Matter protesters were not pursued by the state in this way. Except when the government announced plans for accelerated prosecution of BLM protesters.

“Environmental demonstrators are not prosecuted in this way. Except Extinction Rebellion protesters.

“And the Just Stop Oil defendants were convicted of non-violent crimes, and recently sentenced to prison terms longer than most rioters have received. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are not prosecuted. Unless they are.

“We have already looked at the ‘left-wing’ student protests in 2010, and the series of prosecutions and convictions that followed.”