Tommy Robinson jailed for contempt of court

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting he was in contempt of court by repeatedly making false accusations against a Syrian refugee.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, admitted 10 breaches of a 2021 High Court order during a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court.

Lawyers for the attorney general accused the 41-year-old of “undermining” the rule of law.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Johnson said the breaches of the restraining order that prevented Yaxley-Lenon from repeating the allegations were not “accidental, negligent or simply reckless” and that the prison sentence threshold had been “significantly exceeded”.

Monday's hearing was the culmination of events dating back to October 2018.

This month a video went viral showing Jamal Hijazi, a Syrian from West Yorkshire, being attacked at school by another teenager.

Then Yaxley-Lennon posted his own response to one million Facebook followers He claimed his investigations revealed that Mr Hijazi was a violent thug, a claim that was untrue.

The Yaxley Lennon video spread widely and the Syrian teenager and his family received death threats.

Three years later, Mr Hijazi received £100,000 in damages The Supreme Court ruled that Yaxley-Lennon's claims against him amounted to libel.

The court granted an injunction against Yaxley-Lennon, prohibiting him from making the false claims again.

In February 2023, Yaxley-Lennon founded the long-defunct English Defense League (EDL), began repeating the claims and subsequently posted a film online in which he claimed he had been “silenced” by the state.

This film may have been viewed at least 47 million times.

Finally, in July this year, the anti-Islam activist showed the film to thousands of his supporters in London's Trafalgar Square and said he did not want to be silenced. He left the country the following day.

Aidan Eardley KC, Assistant Attorney-General Sarah Sackman, told the court that despite the injunction, Yaxley-Lennon intended to repeat the false allegations and then take “evasive” action.

“It is a high culpability case due to the high number of breaches,” Mr Eardley said.

“It is an ongoing infringement, the material is still available and some of it is under the control of the defendant.”

Sasha Wass KC of Yaxley-Lennon said he was a journalist who followed his principles and was a passionate supporter of free expression.

“This defendant was neither clever, dishonest, nor seeking profit for himself,” she said.

She said he was such a controversial figure that prison governors may place him in solitary confinement, as was the case the last time he was incarcerated, and there was medical evidence that he had previously suffered trauma, panic attacks and nightmares.

Sentencing Yaxley-Lennon to 18 months in prison, Judge Johnson said: “In a democratic society based on the rule of law, court orders must be obeyed.”

“No one is above the law. No one can choose which laws or orders they obey or disobey.

“Even if they believe that an injunction … conflicts with their views, they must comply with the injunction.

“You are not entitled to stand as judges in your own court. Otherwise, the administration of justice and the rule of law would collapse.”

The judge said the contempt of court was aggravated by the fact that the defendant repeated the claims after the case against him began – and he took no steps to prevent the false claims from continuing to circulate.

The sentence could be reduced by four months in the future if the defendant proves to the court that he took steps to remove the offending film.

However, the judge added: “The defendant has shown no intention of complying with the injunction in the future. “All of his actions indicate that he places himself above the law.”

This case was the fourth contempt case he has faced, having previously received a suspended sentence and a six-month prison sentence.

Yaxley-Lennon was separately charged with failing to unlock his phone for police when he was stopped and questioned at a port under counter-terrorism supervision. He will next appear in court on this claim in November.