Man jailed for Whitehall riots said: 'I was there to buy meat for my mother'

Jack Wood was sentenced to 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to violent disorder in connection with the July 31 incident.

On Friday, Wood told Inner London Crown Court that footage showed him carrying a Tesco shopping bag filled with meat for his mother, whom he cares for.

The man, from Lakeside, Rainham, claimed the loot showed he had not planned in advance to attend the protest.

Defense attorney James Manning presented Wood's instructions to Judge Benedict Kelleher.

Noting that Wood's mother lives in Rainham, the judge asked: “And he bought meat in Whitehall?” before concluding: “That is not the best point.”

The court heard that Wood was involved in the riots at around 8 p.m.

Judge Kelleher said the footage showed Wood approaching the front of the crowd, which was facing the police line, and that “several particularly violent disturbances had already occurred by then”.

Wood walked toward the line while other protesters pushed police, he said.

He was then seen and heard verbally abusing the officers, among others. The judge said: “At that point, you must have realised that the situation was very tense and the police were doing their best to maintain order.”

In sentencing Wood, he said: “(Your actions) must be in the context of the actions around you.”

Wood had previously been convicted of drug possession and had been banned from playing for three years in September 2020 for public order offences, which he had breached.

At the same court, 27-year-old Jay Keeling, of Hyland Way, Hornchurch, pleaded guilty to violent disorder in connection with the same incident in Whitehall.

He was sentenced to 16 months in prison after shoving police officers and throwing a beer bottle at them.

His parents expressed their “shock and remorse” when they returned home from their 60th birthday party and discovered that their son was in custody, said his defense attorney Gethin Payne.

The court heard that Keeling came from a “close-knit family” and none of his relatives had ever been arrested or convicted.

Mr Payne told the court: “You have asked me to express your shock and remorse” and “you are more shocked than anyone else that your son was involved.”

Keeling had joined the authorised Whitehall protest in Richmond Terrace, which turned violent when about 700 people gathered there.

He was part of a splinter group that left the approved protest site but was eventually pushed back by the police.

Shortly after 7:15 p.m., Keeling was observed turning around and pushing his way into the police line with his back to the police.

Judge Kelleher said: “They were pushed back by police over a metal railing.

“It is clear that this made you even angrier and more angry – a few minutes later, in other footage, you could be seen pulling out a beer bottle and throwing it in an arc above shoulder height in the direction of the police cordon.”

He added that there was “no indication that anyone was hit or caused serious injury”, but that it was “an extremely dangerous action and it was sheer luck that you did not actually cause any serious injury”.

Judge Kelleher said Keeling knew the situation was “explosive and that (his) actions could make the situation worse”.

He has had a good character so far.