Epping asylum protester who threw bottle at police jailed

An anti-asylum seeker protester who threw a beer bottle at a police van has been jailed for two years and 11 months.

Keith Silk, 34, armed himself with eggs and the bottle before attending the demonstration in Epping, Essex, with his parents on 17 July 2025.

Up to 500 people gathered outside The Bell Hotel after a migrant living there, Hadush Kebatu, was charged with – and later jailed for – sex offences.

Silk, of Torrington Drive, Loughton, was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court, having been found guilty of violent disorder and criminal damage.

He is the 11th person to be sentenced for involvement in the clashes that day, and the 10th to be jailed.

Prosecutors said the protest had begun peacefully but had descended into “large-scale public disorder” at about 17:30 BST.

It followed the arrival of about 50 counter-demonstrators, which led to clashes among the two groups.