Man, 65, convicted of petrol-bombing Islington migrant hotel

Mixed · 2Mark Neville, 65, of Islington, was convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 28 October 2026 after CCTV showed him throwing a petrol bomb over a gate at a hotel in Dingley Road, Islington, that housed migrants. 1 2 Mixed · 2The Evening Standard and Daily Mirror date the attack to 24 September 2025, at about 10.53pm, while the Daily Mail says 25 September. 1 3 Mixed · 2The footage shows a masked man dressed in black lighting the device in a doorway and throwing it towards the hotel entrance; security guards quickly put out the fire and nobody was injured. 1 2

Mixed · 2The Mail names the building as the Thistle City Barbican Hotel and says it was believed to be housing up to 500 asylum seekers; all three outlets say it is no longer used to house migrants. 3 2 Mixed · 2Police tracked Neville on CCTV from the scene to the door of his flat, reviewing hundreds of hours of footage, and local residents helped identify him. 2 1 Mixed · 2Forensic evidence included his DNA on glass fragments from the bomb and on a glove found in a bin by Simba, a nine-year-old London Fire Brigade forensic fire dog; the Mail adds the glove had traces of medium petroleum distillate. 2 3

Mixed · 2Neville was arrested about two days later and charged with arson with intent to endanger life, criminal damage and other offences; he first denied involvement, including by claiming he was visiting a friend with dementia, before admitting he was the person in the footage. 1 2 Mixed · 2He was convicted of attempted arson being reckless as to endanger life, possession of a bladed article and possession of a prohibited weapon (a stun gun); the Mail says he was found with a lock knife and stun gun five minutes from the hotel, and was remanded in custody with sentence date to be fixed. 2 3 Mixed · 2Police said searches of his flat found internet searches and messages on far-right activism and asylum seekers, and that he was motivated by hate; he told officers he had attended marches including one outside the hotel. 2 1

Centre · 1Detective Chief Inspector Paul Ridley said the attack was "designed to terrify residents and the local community" and "could easily have caused horrific injuries". 1 Right · 1The Mail alone adds court detail: prosecutor Tom Nicholson said Neville had complained about asylum seekers to a pub bartender and that this was the suggested motivation, and that he attended events organised by Tommy Robinson; it also recounts an August 2025 protest and counter-protest at the hotel in which nine people were arrested. 3