Bristol man jailed after setting fire to mobile police station during protests

A Bristol man has been jailed after he helped set a mobile police station on fire during protests in the city in March 2021.

Alexander Papadopoulos, 28, of Whitehall, was jailed for six months by Bristol Crown Court on Monday after he pleaded guilty to arson during the “kill the bill” protests.

Footage from the investigation showed Papadopoulos stoking the fire at the mobile police station, which included launching a chair through the door to fan the flames.

He was also seen wearing a police helmet, which he admitted to stealing, meaning he was given an additional seven days in prison, with the sentences running concurrently.

The judge said Papadopoulos’s actions helped the fire which destroyed the mobile police station, adding he had taken the helmet as “a trophy”.

Detective Superintendent James Riccio said: “The fire this defendant was involved in stoking and accelerating caused catastrophic damage to a community mobile police station and was one of the more significant criminal acts committed on that shameful night of violence.

“The weight of evidence, particularly visual evidence, gathered during this investigation has directly led to this admission of guilt and subsequent prison sentence, which we welcome.”

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Since the protests in the city – in response to the government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Law bill which increased police powers to deal with non-violent demonstrations – 27 people have been jailed, with a combined sentence of 85 years and seven months.