Hotel riot inmate's death was suicide - inquest

A man who was found dead in prison two months after being jailed for his part in disorder outside an asylum seeker hotel took his own life, an inquest jury has found.

Peter Lynch, 61, died at HMP Moorland in South Yorkshire on 19 October last year, after being sentenced to two years and eight months for his role in the riot at the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, in August 2024.

A two-and-a-half-week-long inquest at Doncaster Coroner's Court heard he had been reported for alleged racist comments two days before his death and was waiting for an adjudication by the prison governor.

On Wednesday, the inquest jury returned a conclusion of suicide on the directions of a coroner.

The formal conclusion of the jury stated: "The adjudication papers being served, and Mr Lynch's own belief that he was defenceless, could not protect his family, the children or the people, led Mr Lynch to take the action that he did."

Prison officers previously told the inquest that Lynch had begun to express his views on immigration and asylum seekers on the way to a random drugs test on 17 October 2024.

The court heard that he had told the officers, "they're all rapists and paedophiles and should not be allowed in the country".

The officers said they had asked him to stop because they found the comments "disrespectful, abusive and racist", but Lynch persisted.

In her summing up, senior coroner Nicola Mundy told jurors at Doncaster Coroner's Court it was not a matter for them to determine "whether the words expressed by Mr Lynch were racist".

However, she reminded them that: "Mr Lynch did not agree with the officers' assessment that the comments made were racist."

The court had heard that the following day, while making a series of calls and speaking to his family in his cell, Lynch was handed the adjudication papers through a crack in the door and was told he was due to see the governor in the morning.

A prison officer raised the alarm at roll-call the next morning, and Mr Lynch's body was found in his cell at about 06:30 BST on 19 October.

The inquest heard officers and staff from a Sheffield police station, HMP Doncaster and HMP Moorlands had no concerns raised about any mental health problem.

Lynch's son, who was in Doncaster prison at the same time for his involvement in the Manvers disorder, said another inmate told him about suicide attempts by his father, which he reported.

Mundy said she was concerned about two aspects of the case which had since been addressed by the prison.

One of those was about the information provided to prisoners reported for adjudication before they were locked down.

She said the prison had told her this issue had already been addressed with a system that now provided follow-up engagement and assessment.

The coroner also said she was "satisfied" the prison had addressed concerns she raised over the time it took for Mr Lynch's cell to be opened when he was seen to be unresponsive due to confusion among staff over emergency procedures.

Lynch was arrested on 4 August 2024 outside the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers.

He was photographed holding a placard asserting the corruption of MPs, judges, the media and the police.

He was also filmed repeatedly challenging riot police as they tried to push him back with shields, screaming "protect my children" and yelling: "We are on the streets now to protect our kids."

A total of 64 police officers were injured in the disorder at the hotel, as well as four dogs and a horse.

It was one of a series of violent incidents in the wake of the murder of three young girls in Southport.

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