Tommy Robinson admits contempt of court

Those who commit contempt of court can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.

Tommy Robinson gestures outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London, for the libel case brought against him by Jamal Hijazi. The English Defence League founder commented about a video of Mr Hijazi being attacked in a school playground, claiming he was "not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school". Picture date: Wednesday April 21, 2021.
Author: Callum Parke and Josh Payne, PAPublished 28th Oct 2024

Tommy Robinson has admitted committing contempt of court by repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee, in breach of an injunction.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, admitted breaching the High Court order made in 2021 when he appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday.

Those who commit contempt of court can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.

The Solicitor General issued two contempt claims against Robinson earlier this year, claiming he "knowingly" breached the order on multiple occasions.

The 41-year-old appeared in the dock wearing a grey suit and waistcoat with no tie, after being remanded in custody on Friday.

At the start of the hearing, Aidan Eardley KC, for the Solicitor General, said a "resolution" had been reached over the allegations, and read them out to the court.

Asked by Mr Justice Johnson whether he accepted he had committed the breaches, Robinson nodded and then replied "Yes".

Robinson had been barred from repeating false allegations against then-schoolboy Jamal Hijazi, who successfully sued him for libel.

The Solicitor General issued the first contempt claim against Robinson in June this year, claiming he "knowingly" breached the order on four occasions.

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.

The second claim was issued in August, which concerned several further breaches, including playing the film to a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London earlier this year, which lawyers for the Solicitor General told an earlier hearing was a "flagrant" breach of the court order.

On Friday, Robinson attended Folkestone police station and was separately charged with failing to provide his mobile phone access code to police under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

On Saturday, thousands of his supporters gathered in central London for a protest which the political activist missed after he was remanded.

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.

The hearing continues.

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