A HAMPSHIRE student jailed for throwing a fire extinguisher from a roof during student riots is back in the spotlight amid a political row centring on shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

Edward Woollard was jailed for 32 months after admitting dropping the device from London’s Millbank Tower during protests about student tuition fees in November 2010.

The then 18-year-old, of Dibden Purlieu, was among a group of 47 teenagers from Brockenhurst College who travelled to the capital to join the protest.

Now it has emerged Labour left-winger Mr McDonnell allegedly backed his actions in string of controversial speeches.

It comes as the senior politician launched a flagship speech at yesterday’s Labour Conference in Brighton, promising to redistribute wealth and create “dynamic growth” by reversing cuts to tax credits and aggressively tackling tax avoidance and evasion.

During the riot at the building, which houses the Tory party’s headquarters, Woollard threw the empty metal fire extinguisher as hundreds of people gathered in a courtyard below.

He was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court and was told to serve at least half of his sentence for violent disorder in a young offenders’ institution.

In a 2011 Right to Protest rally Mr McDonnell allegedly said of Woollard: “That kid didn’t deserve 36 months. Actually he’s not the criminal. The real criminals are the ones that are cutting the education services and increasing the fees.

“We’ve got to encourage direct action in any form it can possibly take.”

At a Coalition of Resistance Delegates conference in September 2011 Mr Mc- Donnell allegedly said: “Any institution or any individual that attacks our class, we will come for you with direct action. We will close you down, we will expose you, we’ll sit on your lawn, we’ll come into your offices, we’ll come to wherever you are to confront you.”

The Echo repeatedly contacted Mr McDonnell’s office yesterday but received no reply before going to press.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme he said that Woollard’s action was wrong but he thought the sentence was too harsh.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn defended his shadow chancellor, saying that throwing a fire extinguisher “was a stupid and absolutely the wrong thing to do”, but added: “I think the sentence he got was possibly disproportionate to the crime that he committed.”