Man, 65, is convicted of petrol-bombing an Islington migrant hotel after a fire dog found his discarded glove

Mark Neville, 65, of Pear Street, Islington, initially denied being the masked figure seen on CCTV lighting a petrol bomb and hurling it at the Dingley Road hotel on 24 September 2025 — claiming he was there to visit a friend with dementia. He pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 28 October after detectives reviewed hundreds of hours of footage tracking him from the hotel gate to his own front door.

Forensic fire dog Simba located a discarded glove in a nearby bin; DNA recovered from it matched material found on shards from the petrol bomb.

Searches of Neville's flat uncovered far-right internet searches, messages about asylum seekers, and evidence that he had taken part in protests — among them one held outside the very hotel he attacked.

Among the charges, Neville was convicted of attempted arson reckless as to endanger life, possession of a bladed article, and possession of a prohibited weapon — a stun gun — in a private place.