Tommy Robinson jailed after admitting contempt of court by repeating false allegation about Syrian refugee
Far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been jailed for 18 months after he repeated false allegations about a Syrian refugee schoolboy.
The 41-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, admitted at Woolwich Crown Court to breaching an injunction made after he was successfully sued for libel in 2021.
Those who commit contempt of court can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
A High Court order in 2021 had barred Robinson from repeating libellous allegations against Jamal Hijazi who had successfully sued him for libel.
The Solicitor General issued two contempt claims against Robinson earlier this year, claiming he “knowingly” breached the order on multiple occasions.
Robinson, who founded the far-right English Defence League, appeared in the dock today after being remanded in custody on Friday, wearing a grey suit and waistcoat with no tie.
At the start of a hearing, Aidan Eardley KC, for the Solicitor General, said a “resolution” had been reached over the allegations, and read them out to the court.
When asked by Mr Justice Johnson whether he accepted he had committed the breaches, Robinson nodded and then replied “yes”.
Lawyers previously told a judge that the breaches included Robinson having “published, caused, authorised or procured” a film titled Silenced, which contained the libellous allegations, in May last year.
The film remains pinned to the top of Robinson’s profile on social media site X, while he also repeated the claims in three interviews between February and June 2023.
What was the initial libel case about?
Mr Hijazi was filmed being attacked at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in October 2018.
The boy’s lawyers said false allegations made by Robinson had “a devastating effect” on him and his family, who had come to the UK as refugees, forcing them to move home and abandon his education.
Mr Justice Nicklin ordered Robinson to pay Mr Hijazi £100,000 in damages and his legal costs, as well as making the injunction preventing Robinson from repeating the allegations he made against the then teenager.
Robinson in custody over weekend
The far-right activist has been jailed days after he handed himself in at a police station in Folkestone, Kent, on Friday in a separate case.
He was charged with one count of failing to provide the PIN to his mobile phone under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Robinson, who had been due to lead a rally in London on Saturday, was remanded in custody.
Thousands of his supporters gathered in central London for the demonstration over the weekend despite his absence.
Demonstrators carried placards reading “Two tier Keir fuelled the riots” and chanted “We want Tommy out” as they headed from Victoria station to Parliament Square.