A man involved in the disorder that swept the country after the Southport killings subjected his partner to a “campaign of violence, threats, humiliation and intimidation”.

Keenan Sanders, 22, repeatedly assaulted and threatened the woman over several months in 2025 after having been released under investigation for his part in the disorder of summer 2024.

Bolton Crown Court heard how this involved attacking her with a knife, pushing her into barbed wire, strangling her, and even threatening to “cripple her”.

Judge Jon Close said: “The violence and threats were extreme in nature and often involved the use of a knife.”

He described that as a “campaign of violence, threats, humiliation and intimidation” which continued after he manipulated his victim to give falsely innocent explanations to others.

The case had previously been opened by Charlotte Rimmer, prosecuting, who told the court about the string of violent attacks Sanders had launched.

The court heard how, at one point, Sanders had pushed the woman into oncoming traffic, where she was only narrowly missed by a bus.

On another occasion, he threatened to cut the heels of her foot with a knife before then jabbing at her knee.

Judge Close said that Sanders, who appeared in court via video link from prison, “in essence threatened to cripple her”.

In yet another example of violence, Sanders threatened the victim and pushed her into barbed wire.

Judge Close said that the incidents set out before the court were only a “sample” of Sanders’s behaviour towards the woman during that period.

He described Sanders’s actions as “prolonged, persistent and cruel, at times bordering on sadistic”.

After he was arrested and remanded into custody, Sanders, of no fixed abode, still tried to contact the woman using the prison phone.

Fortunately, police were present when Sanders tried to make one of his calls and the scale of his attempts to keep in touch with her became clear.

Sanders confessed to controlling and coercive behaviour, wounding, S18 wounding, threats with a blade, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault by beating and a S39 assault.

Concerning his victim, Judge Close told Sanders he was “responsible for the destruction of her personality in your attempts to build one that was subservient to your wishes”.

Judge Close noted Sanders has since been convicted of possession of an offensive weapon and criminal damage in connection with the violent disorder of 2024.

He was released under investigation in connection with the offences during his campaign of abuse against his partner.

The court had previously heard from Mark Friend, defending, how being remanded was Sanders’s first experience of the criminal justice system.

He said that the defendant had been just 21 at the time, had endured a difficult upbringing and had ADHD.

Judge Close jailed Sanders for 10 years and made him subject to a lifetime restraining order against his victim.

Bolton News

Exclusive: Police data shows 21% of the 949 people detained in England and Northern Ireland were later accused of violence against intimate partner

One out of every five people arrested after their participation in the 2024 summer riots has since been reported to the police for domestic abuse, the Guardian can disclose.

Police data released under freedom of information (FoI) laws shows that 21% of 949 people arrested for taking part in the violent disorder have been reported for crimes associated with intimate partner violence since August 2024.

For individuals arrested by Cumbria police, this figure was as high as 54%.

Offences for which alleged rioters have since been reported include common assault, controlling and coercive behaviour, breach of domestic violence protection notice and injunctions, threats to kill, actual bodily harm, and criminal damage.

The Guardian previously revealed that two out of every five arrested for participating in the riots had been the subject of a domestic abuse report before their involvement in the public disorder.

Calls to protect women and children alongside anti-migrant rhetoric have been a common feature of these rallies.

The Guardian’s data was obtained through FoI requests sent to 21 police forces covering the 27 towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland where the 2024 riots took place.

The 27 towns were identified as sites of significant disorder in a House of Commons briefing document published in September 2024. Between 30 July and 7 August 2024, an estimated 29 anti-immigration demonstrations and riots took place.

Thousands participated in rioting in some locations and many involved significant property damage.

In Hull, 116 people were arrested. Just under three in 10 – 33 in total – have since been reported for domestic abuse, Humberside police said.

In Rotherham, where hundreds attacked and set fire to an asylum hotel, 171 people were arrested, 40 of whom have since been reported for domestic abuse, South Yorkshire police said.

In Bristol, Avon and Somerset police reported that of the 60 people arrested, 12 have since been subject to reports relating to domestic abuse offences.

Four police forces were unable to provide information on domestic abuse reports within cost limits for FoI requests, including Merseyside police and Greater Manchester police. Southport and Liverpool were the sites of several days of rioting as Merseyside police made 221 arrests.

Keenan Sanders, 22, was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon and criminal damage while participating in the public disorder in Manchester.

After his release under investigation, Sanders subjected his partner to coercive and controlling behaviour in addition to attacks with a knife, strangling, pushing her into oncoming traffic and threatening to cripple her. Sentencing Sanders to 10 years in prison, the judge described his actions as “prolonged, persistent and cruel, at times bordering on sadistic”.

Keir Starmer, speaking in the aftermath, said that rioters could expect to be held on remand and rapidly brought before the courts. Former home secretary Yvette Cooper also promised that participants would face “swift justice”.

The first prison sentence was handed down a week after the riots took place. Justice officials have since revealed that magistrates courts came close to being shut down as prisons struggled to meet capacity for those being fast-tracked through the justice system and remanded to custody.

Data provided by the National Police Chiefs’ Council shows that 50% of individuals have now been charged after their arrests. The Crown Prosecution Service disclosed that 43% have been convicted for offences committed during the violent disorder. For one police force, this was as low as 8%.

Cumbria police reported that of the 26 people arrested, 14 have since been reported for domestic abuse offences. Only four of the 26 arrested have been convicted for any offences committed during the riots.

In Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, Cleveland police made 182 arrests, 38 of whom have since been subject to a domestic abuse report. In the month after the riots in both towns, five individuals were reported for domestic abuse offences which included malicious communication, threats to destroy property and assault.

Farah Nazeer, the chief executive of Women’s Aid, said: “Since 2024, we’ve seen many of those attending the protests that erupted into riots carrying placards with the likes of ‘protect our women’ scrawled on them. It’s worrying to think that in those same crowds were people who had themselves committed, or been accused of, domestic abuse offences.

“It’s important to remember that the most common danger for women does not come from the streets or from strangers, but from people they already know. Most commonly, current or ex-partners.

“It is vital that myths surrounding domestic abuse, and who is most likely to perpetrate it, are called out. We need the government to do more to challenge these harmful stereotypes and to raise greater awareness that it is misogyny that underpins domestic abuse, not immigration status.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Violence against women and girls is a national emergency, and we will continue to deploy the full power of the state to bring vile perpetrators to justice, and prevent harm before it occurs.

“Our violence against women and girls strategy sets out how we will pursue and manage domestic abuse perpetrators. This includes through the rollout of new domestic abuse protection orders to help police forces identify and target the most dangerous perpetrators.”

In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via http://www.befrienders.org.

The Guardian

A rioter who “sat happily drinking” watching the carnage he had helped incite engulf his city has been jailed.

Leon Watson, 35, threw missiles at police and encouraged others to attack in Sunderland in August 2024 after anti-immigration protests turned violent, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

He and his accomplices had “brought shame” on Sunderland during an “orgy of mindless destruction” and “mayhem”, a judge said.

Watson, from Sunderland, admitted riot and was jailed for three years and four months.

Watson had been out drinking in Sunderland when he joined a protest on 2 August 2024, the court heard, one of many around the country organised in the wake of the murder of three girls in Southport.

At its peak up to 1,000 people were involved in the Sunderland disorder with police repeatedly charged at and attacked, Asian-owned businesses and other buildings vandalised, shops looted and petrol bombs thrown, prosecutor Ian Cook said.

A mosque was targeted, seven police cars damaged and a police office destroyed in an arson attack, the court heard.

‘Deter others’

Many of those involved were waving England flags and wearing balaclavas and face coverings, the court heard.

Watson first came to police attention when he blocked the path of a taxi and shouted at the driver while encouraging others to attack the car, Cook said.

He later hurled a missile at police officers and handed items to others to throw, the court heard.

Judge Tim Gittins said Watson, of Hevingham Close, and others had “brought significant shame upon the city” during an “orgy of mindless destruction, violence and disorder” and widespread “mayhem”.

The businesses of “hardworking and decent” people had been attacked and damaged with the cost of repairs totalling “hundreds of thousands of pounds”, the judge said.

The police bill had come to £1.517m which would have to be footed by taxpayers, the court heard.

After Watson had played his part, he “sat happily drinking whilst watching” the destruction play out, the judge said.

Watson was “encouraging and involved in violence”, the judge said, with the “unavoidable feature of mass disorder” meaning each person present “inflames” the situation so should be sentenced severely to both punish the offender and “deter others from copying their example”.

BBC News

A convicted rioter has been dragged before the courts again after threatening to kill a probation officer.

Daniel Carrigan was serving a 32-month-long sentence in HMP Lindholme when he was denied access to call his partner, after she requested the prison block her number.

In the words of prosecuting barrister Jack Staples-Butler at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday (May 5), he then proceeded to make ‘numerous calls’ to his probation officer, demanding access to his partner’s number be restored.

This escalated until on July 16, 2025, he left a voicemail message on her work phone that included threats to kill her.

“You made threats to kill – this included not just the probation officer, but also others,” Judge Patrick Palmer explained when passing his sentence.

“It was a horrible message, and having read the victim personal statement it has had a very significant effect on her as you might well imagine.”

After the incident, the 43-year-old was offered an interview in prison, which he refused, with the court being told that he ‘tore up the letter’ when it was served to him.

These latest offences come as Carrigan is already serving a sentence after being convicted in August, 2024, for his role in the Southport Riots.

He was released on license in April 2025, however only a month later was taken back into custody following an assault at the accommodation he was staying at, the court heard.

Carrigan’s representative, Ian West, explained how his client suffers from a number of mental health issues including anxiety, OCD and agoraphobia.

Mr West went on to explain that Carrigan is still in a relationship with his partner, who sat in the public gallery and gave a character reference in which she detailed his struggles with mental health.

However, Carrigan continued to interrupt proceedings while his sentence was being passed, with Judge Palmer eventually telling the defendant: “Your barrister has already spoken on your behalf.”

Mr West apologised for his client’s behaviour, before the judge explained that this offence was aggravated by the fact that the victim was a probation officer trying to carry out her her duties.

The court was also told that Carrigan had 15 previous convictions for 21 offences.

The judge accepted the mitigating factors – including Carrigan’s guilty plea and mental health struggles – before passing a sentence of 10 months to serve concurrently with his ongoing violent disorder sentence.

As Carrigan was taken away, he called to his partner, shouting ‘I love you baby’ from the docks.

Sheffield Star