Please Try To Forgive Jordan Blackshaw and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan

The men became the first to be sentenced by crown court judges for their involvement in the mass civil disobedience that swept England. Jordan Blackshaw (left), 20, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, were jailed for four years each for inciting the disorder on Facebook despite both being of previous good character. Blackshaw created an event on the site entitled 'Smash Down Northwich Town', while Sutcliffe-Keenan encouraging a riot on the same site. In a separate case, a judge in Manchester jailed three men for between 16 months and two years for either looting or handling stolen goods. And in a stark warning as he sentenced the trio, Judge Andrew Gilbart QC said he was sending a “clear and unambiguous message” to future would-be rioters and looters. He said: “The courts should show that outbursts of criminal behaviour like this will and must be met with sentences longer than they would be if the offences had been committed in isolation. “As a starting point, it seems to me inevitable that any adult offender (who took part in the riot) must expect to lose his or her liberty for a significant period.” The cases came a day after it emerged that magistrates in London had been told they can ignore normal sentencing guidelines in order to hand down tougher penalties for those involved in last week’s disturbances. - Tom Whitehead, and Nigel Bunyan