Tommy Robinson could face jail as new contempt of court claim lodged

English Defence League founder accused of breaching ban on repeating libellous claims

The crowd could be heard chanting Tommy Robinson’s name (David Parry/PA) (PA Wire)

Tommy Robinson could face jail after being issued with a new contempt of court claim against him following the airing of a film at a protest in central London.

Law officers allege Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is alleged to have breached a High Court order issued in 2021 barring him from repeating libellous allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) said.

It is understood that the airing of a film titled Silenced at a demonstration in Trafalgar Square last month is one of six actions claimed to have breached the injunction between June and July this year.

In 2021, teenager Jamal Hijazi won £100,000 in damages in a defamation battle against Yaxley-Lennon, who had falsely accused him of being a violent thug, claims repeated on social media.

Mr Hijazi was assaulted at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in October 2018.

After a clip of the incident went viral, Robinson made false claims, including about Mr Hijazi, as a boy, attacking girls in his school, leading to the libel case.

A judge ordered Robinson never to repeat the lies, but last year he began spreading his claims again.

Campaign group Hope Not Hate alleged that Robinson had ignored the injunction and repeated the allegations, providing a “dossier of evidence” to the Attorney General’s Office, with the Solicitor General then taking legal action.

The Attorney General’s Office said Robinson was served with the latest contempt application, made on behalf of Solicitor General Sarah Sackman, on his X account on Wednesday after the application was lodged on 19 August.

It follows an earlier contempt application concerning other alleged breaches of the order. A court hearing in London last month was told that Robinson had left the country.

A hearing for both applications will be held on 28 October.

A new contempt of court application has been lodged against Tommy Robinson over alleged breaches of a High Court order from 2021 (PA Wire)

Robinson, founder of the English Defence League (EDL), was first served with contempt proceedings in June, after the Solicitor General told a previous court hearing that he knowingly breached the order by having “published, caused, authorised or procured” a film titled Silenced in May last year.

It is also claimed the 41-year-old repeated the allegations banned by the injunction in three interviews between February and June 2023.

Silenced was then shown again at a demonstration in Trafalgar Square last month, which is understood to be part of the alleged breach of the order under the second contempt application.

The day after the protest, Robinson was arrested for the “frustration” of a port stop at the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Adam Payter, representing the Solicitor General at the hearing last month, said that it was believed that following his release on unconditional bail, Robinson then left the country and that there “was nothing to prevent him from doing so”.

Mr Justice Johnson issued a warrant for Robinson’s arrest but ordered that it not be carried out until early October to allow Robinson time to indicate that he would attend the next hearing voluntarily or to apply to “set aside” the warrant.

Robinson was accused of stoking the far-right riots that hit English cities this month, while still abroad.

He published running commentary and videos documenting the disorder, citing “legitimate concerns” and calling for “mass deportations”.

If he fails to return to the UK, the case will be heard in his absence, and could potentially lead to a jail sentence.

Robinson’s tax affairs are also reportedly under investigation.