A thug who pushed a female police officer down stairs during far-right protests in London has been jailed for two years.
Jamie Dewing, 31, from Saltburn-by-the-Sea near Middlesbrough in north-east England, took part in a June 13 protest that claimed to be protecting London's statues from defacement by anti-racist groups.
But the protests quickly descended into a running battle between demonstrators and police. More than 100 people were arrested and six officers were injured. Boris Johnson slammed the protests as "racist thuggery".
Dewing confronted officers who were helping an isolated woman from another group near the Nelson Mandela statue at the north-west corner of Parliament Square.
Police said they were moving the woman away from the crowd when Dewing violently shoved a female officer, who fell onto her back down some steps. She hurt her back and neck and is still having physiotherapy, although she is now back on duty.
Dewing was later caught on camera acting aggressively, including throwing a metal barrier at officers and spitting at them along Whitehall, which runs off the square.
He was arrested by Cleveland Police after they reviewed CCTV footage of the incident. He initially denied the charges but then pleaded guilty when he saw how much evidence there was against him, police said.
Dewing admitted one count of assaulting an emergency service worker and one count of violent disorder at Teeside Magistrates’ Court on July 8.
Detective Constable Nicky Dixon, part of the investigation team into the disorder, said: “Dewing assaulted an officer who was only trying to protect a member of the public. This officer braved a hostile crowd to carry out the rescue of someone who was vulnerable. Having come to the woman’s aid, the officer was moving away when Dewing assaulted her.
"There is no excuse for this or his later actions, it was just thuggery.
“As part of our investigation into recent disorder, we have released many images of people we would like to speak with in connection with this incident. I would urge everyone to please take a few minutes to look through these images in the news and on social media and, if you identify anyone you recognise, please let us know who they are.”