Man jailed for nine years for arson at asylum seekers’ hotel in UK riots

A British man was jailed for nine years on Friday for arson at a hotel housing asylum seekers last month, by far the longest sentence imposed over a wave of anti-Muslim riots.

Thomas Birley, 27, pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life after stoking a fire in a bin by an entranceway to a hotel near Rotherham in northern England on Aug. 4.

Prosecutor Elisha Kay said Birley added wood to an already-flaming industrial bin which had been placed in front of a fire door...