Panorama - Why I joined a riot

Panorama's exploration of why people join riots - "Why I joined a riot" - last week was somewhat bizarre.  It was hard to work out if it was in earnest or a Louis Theroux style toung-in-cheek hang-em-with-their-own-words piece.  Three people who were at riots were paraded in televisual sackcloth and ashes to tell us of their remorse and beg for forgiveness/repentance/whatever....  

Top billing was Aimee Hodgkinson-Hedgecox who had a record as long as your arm [14 previous convictions involving 30 offences, the last of which was for battery in 2009] who had turned out to a riot in front of a hotel because it might contain other criminals who weren't British and she didn't want to be vying for prison places with her.  

Hodgkinson-Hedgecox claimed she had gone to the riot because she was stupid (always sounds better than racist - although there are some crossovers on the Venn diagram) and because her son had been begging her to take him.  Loading the blame on her own children seemed particularly dense and irresponsible - which one of you is the adult again? - but the Beeb let her get away with this... I can't think why?  Was it satire or were they trying to legitimise the indefensible?  

Hodgkinson-Hedgecox pled guilty and when sentenced to 27 months said "iIt's a joke, it's a fucking piss-take.".  Did anyone explain to her that prison is what happens when you plead guilty?  Horace Rumpole where are you?  Mind you, I'm not sure even Horace could have got her off the damning video evidence which showed her shouting and stopping occasionally to shield her son from the violence like any good mother.  Where are social services when you need them?

Her partner was interviewed by her kitchen sink and wood worktop saying she had no idea Aimee would be so irresponsible.  What you're married and you didn't know she'd done bird?  She did know however how to take a grand off a far right "freeze peach" organisation although she didn't know why she did.  Chinny rub ... 

Aimee's son was interviewed taking the blame for encouraging his mother to go on a riot after watching violent videos on TikTok or was it WhatsApp?  The fundamental failures of parenting here are manyfold and manifold (who's the adult again?) but it raises the interesting question - did they just go for something to do?  There is always an element of people (particularly on the left) who like to go on a demo partly as it's a day out.  Indeed, I have a friend in Leeds who used to time his visits to London to coincide with various demos simply for the free coach ticket.  Such is political protest when you are, to quote John Steinbeck, in dubious battle.

Interestingly Aimee didn't do any physical violence herself, just gave the police and asylum seekers a verbal beating and riled up the crowd.  Mac McLeod would be proud... That said she showed all the genuine remorse expected of someone trying to lose an ankle tag...

Two other rioters were interviewed with various other levels of culpability and remorse.  One even apologised to a graceful Iman at the mosque he had besieged. And he meant that most sincerely folks... 

The BBC asked why people were so angry they went to these riots incited mostly by preposterous obvious lies but didn't attempt to answer it's own question... but anyway it seemed irresponsible to me to let Aimee load all the guilt onto her son.  Which one is the adult again?