Tommy Robinson wins appeal - as it happened: Far-right leader walks free from prison on bail but could be jailed again

Court of Appeal quashes contempt of court finding from Leeds but orders Robinson to attend new hearing

Tommy Robinson wins appeal: Far-right leader freed from prison on bail

Tommy Robinson has been released from prison after a court's finding that he committed contempt in Leeds was quashed.

But the Court of Appeal ordered the far-right leader to attend a new hearing on the case that could see him jailed for a second time.

Robinson's lawyers had argued he should be freed because of “procedural deficiencies” in two court cases.

The Lord Chief Justice and two other judges dismissed their appeal against the first finding in Canterbury, which saw Robinson handed a suspended three-month prison sentence last year.

But they ruled that a judge who jailed Robinson for 13 months at Leeds Crown Court in May "gave rise to unfairness" by proceeding too quickly and failing to properly follow rules.

Supporters of Robinson inside the Court of Appeal as the Rt Hon Sir Ian Burnett, Mr Justice Turner and Mrs Justice McGowan DBE handed down their judgment.

They were silenced by the Lord Chief Justice as Free Tommy protesters and anti-fascist demonstrators were kept apart by police outside.

Robinson later walked free from HMP Onley, flanked by men carrying his luggage before being driven away.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was released from HMP Onley later on Wednesday.

High-profile backers including the Ukip leader Gerard Batten, Dutch opposition leader Geert Wilders and the former Breitbart London editor Raheem Kassam hailed the verdict as a victory for “freedom of speech”.

Judges dismissed calls to quash findings that he committed contempt at Canterbury Crown Court in May 2017, saying criticism by Robinson’s legal team “had no substance”.

But Lord Burnett, Mr Justice Turner and Mrs Justice McGowan found that procedural failings by a judge who later jailed Robinson for 13 months at Leeds Crown Court “gave rise to unfairness”.

Robinson was arrested on 25 May after broadcasting a Facebook Live video that broke a blanket reporting restriction on an ongoing set of trials, and jailed hours later.

Judges found that while Geoffrey Marson QC was right to bring Robinson before him to have the video deleted and protect jury deliberations, the case was dealt with too fast and did not follow criminal procedure rules.

“There was no clarity about what parts of the video were relied upon as amounting to contempt, what parts the appellant accepted through his counsel amounted to contempt and for what conduct he was sentenced,” the judgment said.

“Whilst the judge was entitled to deal with the contempt himself, the urgency went out of the matter when the appellant agreed to take down the video from Facebook. There should have been an adjournment to enable the particulars of contempt to be properly formulated and for a hearing at a more measured pace, as had happened in Canterbury.”

They ordered the matter to be heard again at the Old Bailey “as soon as reasonably possible”, and bailed Robinson on the condition he attends the new hearing and does not go within 400m of Leeds Crown Court.

Robinson’s barrister, Jeremy Dein QC, had argued that a “conglomeration of procedural deficiencies” had given rise to prejudice against his client and caused him to be handed a “manifestly excessive” prison sentence.

He argued that proceedings at Leeds Crown Court were “unnecessarily and unjustly rushed”, causing Robinson’s representative to miss potential mitigating factors that could have lowered his sentence.

“He did not intend to breach any [reporting restriction] order, albeit that he was aware that there was an order,” Mr Dein told the court, claiming that Robinson was “operating as a journalist” and attempted to be legally vigilant.

Court records show that through his lawyer, Robinson expressed deep regret for the “breach of integrity of the court system”, but was not asked to respond to the particulars of the allegations himself.

The failings also meant Robinson was recorded as a criminal, rather than civil, prisoner and deprived of visits, free communications and other freedoms he should have been allowed.

The appeal was launched outside the 28-day time limit for challenging convictions, but was allowed after judges heard that legal meetings were delayed by Robinson being held in “effective solitary confinement” for his own safety.

Key Points

• Tommy Robinson is freed from HMP Onley on bail 
• Judges quash finding of contempt of court at Leeds but uphold previous contempt finding in Canterbury
• Robinson could be jailed again after new hearing
• Prominent far-right figures around the world celebrate ruling 
• Voices: 'The powerful international far-right network behind Robinson'
• Far-right leader was jailed for 13 months after committing contempt of court in Leeds and Canterbury
• Police bracing for potential protests over result
• Why Tommy Robinson was jailed

[1 August 2018 17:00 · Lizzie Dearden]

In a comment piece for The Independent, Hope Not Hate's Nick Ryan writes that the swell of support for Robinson has been "partly cooked up abroad".

Listing backers including a US think-tank, Steve Bannon, a Republican congressman, Dutch politician Geert Wilders, Canadian website Rebel Media and figures showing large proportions of #FreeTommy messages online were posted from abroad, he concludes:

He is backed by powerful overseas figures with deep pockets, yet portrays himself a man of the people: it’s time we woke  up to the real Tommy."

Read the full piece here 

[1 August 2018 17:30 · Lizzie Dearden]