Tommy Robinson served new contempt of court notice via his X account
Tommy Robinson is alleged to have breached a High Court order issued in 2021 barring him from repeating libellous allegations against a Syrian refugee
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Your support makes all the difference.Tommy Robinson has been served his second contempt of court notice via his official Twitter/X page.
The founder of the far-right English Defence League, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was handed a new contempt notice by The Attorney General’s Office, on behalf of the Solicitor General Sarah Sackman MP.
He 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.
Mr Robinson, the former leader of the far-right English Defence League, had his account deactivated in 2018 for breaching Twitter’s “hateful conduct” policy but was reinstated by Elon Musk in November.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office said: “Stephen Yaxley-Lennon was served via his personal X, formerly known as Twitter, account on Wednesday 28 August after the application was lodged with the High Court on Monday 19 August. He was also served via his email address on Wednesday 21 August.
“The contempt application relates to actions by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, during June and July 2024 which are alleged to have breached the terms of an order imposed by the High Court on 22 July 2021 preventing him from repeating libellous statements.
“The first contempt application is still active and both applications will be heard in the High Court on 28 October 2024.”
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 successfully sued Mr Robinson after the then-schoolboy 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 attacking girls in his school, leading to the libel case.
Under the 2021 court order, Mr Robinson was barred from repeating allegations he made against the Syrian refugee.
A hearing for both cases will be held on October 28, with sentencing guidelines stating that those found to have committed contempt of court could be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
A court hearing was previously told that Mr Robinson “knowingly” breached the order by having “published, caused, authorised or procured” Silenced in May last year, which contained the libellous allegations.
It is also alleged he repeated the claims banned by the injunction in three interviews between February and June 2023.
It follows Silenced being shown at a demonstration in Trafalgar Square last month, which included an introduction from Mr Robinson standing outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, with the film also pinned to the top of Mr Robinson’s X account.
The day after the protest, Mr Robinson was arrested for the “frustration” of a port stop at the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
It came after Mr Robinson complained his family holiday to a luxury Cypriot resort was ruined by journalists who revealed his location after he was accused of stoking far-right riots in the UK.
The EDL founder said he had left Cyprus and moved his children to Athens, Greece, but denied being on the run ahead of the High Court appearance.
Mr Robinson said he had booked the Mediterranean break to spend time with his family and friends ahead of the High Court appearance. He said he was planning to return to the UK in time for the appearance.
The activist has enjoyed a sizeable boost to his following online after events surrounding race riots triggered by the stabbing of three young girls in Southport on 29 July.
Data reveals that posts mentioning Tommy Robinson across social media platforms ballooned from just a few hundred per day to 13,800 on the weekend of 27 and 28 July.
Meanwhile on the worst day of the riots (4 August), posts mentioning Tommy Robinson were at their peak, at 7,434 in one day.
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