'Police drove people like cattle' - live updates as first Ely riots trial reaches conclusion

The prosecution are "desperate to convict" the men on trial over the Ely riots and ignore evidence that does not suit their case, the first Ely riots heard today as concluding speeches were heard in Newport Crown Court.

Barristers acting on behalf of the seven men accused of rioting are speaking on their behalf after a prosecutor used his final speech of the Ely riots trial to lay out why the jury should convict seven men of rioting.

Harry Baker, defence barrister for defendant Lee Robinson, said that police officers had driven people "like cattle" at the scene and had prosecuted his client even though a police officer at the scene called him "boring" and that no-one had suggested he used any violence.

"You may think his behaviour is obnoxious but that does not mean he is guilty of rioting or inciting a riot," he said.

In his closing speech on Monday, October 20, prosecutor Matthew Cobbe laid out why the prosecution argues that the admitted actions of the seven men - which include throwing a stone in one case and live streaming the riot while insulting officers in another - should be treated as the legal offence of riot, which carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years.

Under the Public Order Act 1986, the prosecution must prove that each defendant used unlawful violence that they intended to use such violence for the common purpose, that they were aware their conduct may be violent and that it would cause a person at the scene to fear for their personal safety.

The defendants in this trial, which is the first trial to take place in connection with the ugly scenes that gripped the Cardiff suburb of Ely after the deaths of two teenagers in an e-bike crash in May 2023, include seven men aged between 21 and 38.

Lee Robinson, 38,