Rioter dies in prison after being jailed for two years for violent disorder after screaming at police, shouting racist abuse and calling asylum seekers ‘child killers’ during anti-immigration riots

A jailed anti-immigration rioter who shouted racist slurs at police and called asylum seekers “child killers” has died in prison.

Peter Lynch, 61, died on Saturday evening at HMP Moorland near Doncaster, south Yorkshire, the prison service confirmed.

He was serving a two-year, eight-month sentence after being jailed in August. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) is now conducting an independent investigation into his death.

Lynch, who had diabetes, thyroid problems and angina, and recently suffered a heart attack, was put behind bars for shouting at police outside a Rotherham hotel housing asylum seekers.

The grandfather, who was described as a conspiracy theorist, went to the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers on August 4, waving a sign accusing police officers, MPs, NASA and the Environment Agency of being ‘corrupt’.

During his sentencing on August 22, Lynch, who was called a “family man”, pleaded guilty to violent disorder after shouting “racist and provocative comments” at police and calling asylum seekers “child killers”.

The grandfather went to the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers on August 4, waving a sign accusing police officers, MPs and the media of being ‘corrupt’.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘HMP Moorland prisoner Peter Lynch died on October 19, 2024. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.’

The PPO told MailOnline: ‘The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman is conducting an independent investigation into the death of Peter Lynch which occurred on October 19, 2024 at HMP Moorland.

“We extend our condolences to his friends and family.”

Lynch’s sentencing hearing was told that he was a “full participant” in the riot and was filmed calling officers “scum” after shouting: “You’re protecting people who are killing and raping our children.”

Asked by Judge Jeremy Richardson QC about the meaning of the sign he was holding, Ian West, defending, said: ‘It is a general conspiracy theory against anyone and any form of authority. This was somewhat off-topic of what happened that day.”

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

The father of four children and grandfather of three children was branded by the judge as a ‘scandalous example of a grandfather’, reports the Guardian.

“You undoubtedly tried to escalate the situation as best you could,” Judge Richardson added.

More than 50 police officers were injured as a result of the riot in Rotherham on August 4, which smashed windows and left asylum seekers fearing for their lives.

Violent thugs tried to burn down the hotel allegedly housing asylum seekers and blocked the emergency exits in Rotherham on August 4.

A police dog handler during the far-right demonstration outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham

Mr West told the court that Lynch, of Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham, had been married for 36 years and has four adult children and three grandchildren.

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

Lynch was one of more than 50 men now jailed at Sheffield Crown Court following the Rotherham riots, which injured 64 police officers, as well as four dogs and a horse.

About 64 police officers were injured as a result of the riot, as well as four dogs and a horse, which left windows smashed and asylum seekers fearing for their lives as the crowd, incited by far-right rhetoric online, attempted to storm the hotel.

Some scrawled aggressive graffiti on the walls, writing ‘scum’ and ‘get out of England’, while others set fire to rubbish bins and threw them at hotel windows.

The riots were sparked when disinformation about the Southport stabbing suspect circulated online, with him falsely claiming to be a Muslim asylum seeker and giving a false name.

It was shared by a number of high-profile far-right figures online and a Russia-affiliated ‘news website’.

Lynch would be eligible for the early release scheme recently introduced by Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood.

The scheme reduces the portion of the sentence that most offenders must serve behind bars from 50 percent to 40 percent.

The law does not apply to certain prisoners, including those convicted of sexual abuse, domestic violence or terrorism crimes, or to violent offenders serving sentences of more than four years.