Yahoo News Masked dad, 41, at 'forefront' of Hanley riots served in Iraq
Iraq veteran Lee Whitby was at the 'forefront' of the Hanley riots. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the 41-year-old was caught on camera near Salahuddin Mosque, on Town Road, as well as at the front of police lines outside Hanley Library and in Shelton during the August 3 troubles.
Now Whitby - who has 42 previous offences on his record - has been jailed for 26 months after admitting violent disorder. Tours of Kosovo and Iraq have left him with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Fiona Cortese, prosecuting, said: “Mr Whitby was very much at the forefront of the police line, wearing a balaclava or face mask. He can be seen taking out his phone and shouting at police officers before sustaining an injury to his hand and then he gets a plaster for it.
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“Video footage from Town Road shows Mr Whitby was there again at the front of the police line causing issues and he is present when missiles and fireworks are thrown. He can also be seen picking something up and throwing it in the direction of the mosque and the mosque car park. Mr Whitby is also seen pushing with others against the police line in Shelton, and further footage by the library shows him standing directly in front of a police carrier preventing it from moving and he is spoken to by a police officer.”
The court heard Whitby, of Newpool Terrace, Brown Lees, had not been in trouble since 2012.
Catherine O’Reilly, mitigating, said: “It is clear Lee Whitby is incredibly remorseful and ashamed at being sentenced for an offence that is completely out of character. His focus has been on his family and work. Mr Whitby is a family man. His partner sits in court and he has a young daughter and son from a previous relationship. He is not the kind of man out on the weekends causing trouble. He wants to remain in employment and then go home to his family. He is a fabricator for a well-established company for a number of years, hopefully he will return to the trade.
“Mr Whitby takes full responsibility for his actions that day. He misplaced his sense of loyalty to his friends who were participating in the riots that day. There is no suggestion of Mr Whitby chanting anything of racial motivations and he says he is not racially motivated.
“He has served this country for a number of years, previously in Iraq and Kosovo, and he has PTSD from this, but he returned to employment in civilian life. He’s let himself down badly but his family more. This is a snapshot of a man who behaved completely out of character and he is hopeful to return to work and to his family as soon as possible.”
Judge Graeme Smith told Whitby: "You were in four locations shouting and disrupting, throwing missiles, and wearing a balaclava. You have shown genuine remorse in mitigation and you say it was out of character. It is regrettable having served the country and then acting in this way that it has impacted your family.”
