HMP Belmarsh: The high-security prison where Tommy Robinson is jailed
Supporters of far-right activist say he is being held at one of the UK’s most notorious prisons after he was jailed for contempt of court
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Far-right activist Tommy Robinson will reportedly spend time in solitary confinement in one of the country’s most notorious prisons after he was jailed for contempt of court.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, admitted to breaching a High Court injunction preventing him from repeating libellous allegations against Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi.
The former leader of the English Defence League aired the claims in a documentary - which the court was told was “effectively commissioned” through American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s Infowars company - during a rally in Trafalgar Square.
Mr Justice Johnson condemned the “flagrant” breaches of the court order and sentenced him to 18 months behind bars.
A post on Robinson’s X account said he has been sent to Belmarsh, which holds some of the country’s most dangerous criminals.
Robinson will not be mixing with the other inmates and will be kept in isolation “for his own safety”, the Daily Mail reported.
It is not Robinson’s first spell in the prison after he spent time locked up at Belmarsh in 2019, also for contempt of court charges. Robinson broke a court reporting order after live-streaming defendants in a sex abuse case.
Ross Kemp interviewed a tearful Robinson in his cell during a TV documentary about prison, after the former leader of the English Defence League complained about being put in solitary confinement.
“I wanted to make sure I have my rights,” said the far-right activist. “I know what 10 weeks of solitary confinement does. It’s not good”.
“It’s not solitary confinement, as in terms of the cooler. It’s not a box with nothing in it,” Kemp replied. “You’ve got a TV. You’ve got a kettle.”
Robinson added: “This has been as best as could possibly be being locked on my own for months.
“I haven’t been in Belmarsh, I haven’t looked around, I haven’t seen another prisoner. I’ve seen Julian Assange through the window.”
After being asked by Kemp how he felt, Robinson started crying. He added: “I’d say that my thing is because I know I’m going home to my kids and you just want to be normal.”
Belmarsh is a category A prison that garnered the nickname Hellmarsh due to its fearsome reputation as one of the UK toughest jails.
The high security prison has previously housed hate preacher Abu Hamza, one of Britain’s most violent prisoners, Charles Bronson and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
It has a specific wing for terrorists and other dangerous inmates but also an area for lower risk offenders from parts of London and Essex.
There were previously concerns that Islamic terrorists jailed at HMP Belmarsh could be networking at the prison.
Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, who was was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years in July 2020 after planning a gun, knife and van massacre in the capital, told his trial he was “surrounded by jihadis” in HMP Belmarsh.
He said they would often talk about plotting terror attacks. He added: “There’s many many radical Muslims in prison and usually that’s all they would talk about.”
Chowdhury alleged that he met with “likeminded brothers” including the Parsons Green bomber Ahmed Hassan and a man who knew Mohammed Emwazi, the Isis executioner dubbed “Jihadi John”.
Given his Islamophobic rhetoric, Robinson is likely to be kept separate from any Islamist prisoners.