EDL founder Tommy Robinson loses libel case against Huddersfield schoolboy
The far right activist made false allegations about the boy, who attending Almondbury Community School
Tommy Robinson has lost a libel case brought against him by a Syrian schoolboy who was filmed being attacked at school in Huddersfield.
The English Defence League founder - whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - was sued by Jamal Hijazi, who was assaulted in the playground at Almondbury Community School in October 2018.
Shortly after the video of the incident went viral, Mr Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos that Jamal was "not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school".
In the clips viewed by nearly one million people, the 38-year-old also claimed Jamal "beat a girl black and blue" and "threatened to stab" another boy at his school, allegations the teenager denies.
At a four-day trial in April, Jamal's lawyers said that Mr Robinson's comments had "a devastating effect" on the schoolboy and his family who had come to the UK as refugees from Homs, Syria.
Mr Robinson, who represented himself, argued his comments were substantially true, claiming to have "uncovered dozens of accounts of aggressive, abusive and deceitful behaviour" by Jamal.
However, in a judgment delivered on Thursday, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled in Jamal's favour and granted him £100,000 in damages.
Catrin Evans QC, for Jamal, previously said that Robinson's comments led to the teenager "facing death threats and extremist agitation" and that he should receive damages of between £150,000 and £190,000.
During the trial, Ms Evans described Mr Robinson as "a well-known extreme-right advocate" with an "anti-Muslim agenda" who used social media to spread his views.
She added that Mr Robinson's videos "turned Jamal into the aggressor and the bully into a righteous white knight".
However, Mr Robinson maintained he was an independent journalist during the trial, telling the court: "The media simply had zero interest in the other side of this story, the uncomfortable truth."
Mr Justice Nicklin also granted Jamal Hijazi an injunction against Mr Yaxley-Lennon, preventing him from repeating the allegations he made against him.
The judge said he was initially not going to grant an injunction as he felt Jamal had not "demonstrated that, if I did not grant an injunction, that there was a risk of (Robinson) going on and publishing the allegations" again.
But Jamal's lawyers said a video published by Robinson on social media this weekend - in which he said he was going to publish "the total evidence and proof" of what Jamal "was like" - meant an injunction was necessary.
Robinson said he had been commissioned to make a film about the incident which was "already made", adding: "It's left for the viewer to make their mind (up) on what's happened."
He argued that an injunction was not necessary and said: "I think there will be mass concern by the public that they are not being able to make their own minds up."
Mr Justice Nicklin ruled: "The injunction, I am satisfied, should be granted."